Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Creating the food chain Yellow perch as backbone of LMB food chain?

If yellow perch can't be the backbone of the food chain, could they still be a valuable supplement in a LMB-BG fishery in southern Kansas?

My pond will literally be sculpted from clay. Dimensions and depths can easily be selected during the design phase. (Aiming for 1.5 to 2 acres.) I would like to have YP as a bonus fish. (Eat some if they ever need to be culled or if one gets gullet-hooked.)

Is there any chance of getting recruitment around the LMB and BG? I assume the BG will hammer the fry, and the LMB will hammer the fingerlings before they reach sexual maturity. I can build humps in the middle of the pond and try to raise "designer" submerged weed assemblages. I also have lots of Osage Orange trees to clear. I could easily construct long-lasting cribs. Is there any combination of weeds and/or crib fill that would support YP and inhibit hunting BG and LMB?