Been hiding in the shadows for sometime now trying to gain knowledge about what I need to do with the in-laws family farm pond. It was broke open partially about 6-7 years ago after a winter kill and then cleaned out. Pond is about 1.75-2 acres (according to OnX Maps). Depth is ~8’ deep out 6’ off the shoreline with a max depth of 14’. If guess the average to be 10-12’ depth. There is a cattle pasture on the up hill side so there is drainage from a livestock area, but they aren’t supposed n the pond themselves. I’d like to have a pond where there is a population of perch/walleye/crappie for eating while still having other fish (bass/bluegill) for the kids to keep them entertained. It was stocked as follows:

2016: 3,000 FHM, 1,000 bluegills, 7 grass carp

2017: 100 yellow perch, 100 largemouth bass

I’m looking to add variety to the pond. Was thinking about adding 100 walleye, 100 black crappie, another 3,000 FHM to the forage base.

I’ve also been considering adding 100 smallmouth bass, but at the price of them I’m concerned I’d be wasting money with the LMB already in the pond which would eat them or push them out. Would I be better off increasing the walleye, perch, and black crappie numbers?

Is there any need to add shell crackers (RES) to the pond for controlling parasites?