One can easily have a relatively low maintenance pond with lower natural density fish community. No feeding, only warm season aeration, natural fish balance with maybe occasional fish harvest to maybe adjust fish numbers.
IMO experience and opinion the biggest thing for a lower maintenance pond is build the pond so it receives minimal external organic inputs. Without feeding in a 1/2 ac pond, with central MI soil fertility, expect around 80-100 to maybe 120 total fish pounds in 0.5ac. You determine how those pounds of fish are distributed among the fishes present. More little ones, more larger ones, or some sort of nature's reproduction balance based on predator - prey species. A good fish combo for mid-Michigan would be perch, maybe pumpkinseed sunfish, and smallmouth bass. SMB very poorly control bluegill numbers. LMBass would soon eliminate all perch once the original stockers died of old age unless the pond has beds of submerged vegetation, but common weed beds would not be low maintenance. Weeds would tend to become over abundant. They always do. If you stock perch with LMB you usually eventually have just LMB one the stocker perch die.
If you want a real low maintenance fishery then just stock several smallmouth or largemouth bass. No forage fish; let them eat just invertebrates. Imlay City Fish Farm has pretty good fish. A bass only pond. They won't grow bigger than 10"-12", but will achieve a numbers balance as mostly adults, and keep larger invertebrates and frogs at lower numbers. Imlay sells redear sunfish but they likely come from Arkansas and southern RES will desperately struggle to live in mid-MI. If Imlay produces their own RES fingerlings from their brood stock then maybe those could tolerate MI winters??. Interesting to know those results.
A good resource for you is the detailed information on fish pond management you can order Managing Michigan Ponds for Sport Fishing Extension Bulletin E-1554 from the Michigan State University Extension Bookstore or your county Extension office.
https://www.canr.msu.edu/resources/managing_michigan_ponds_for_sports_fishing_e1554The Bulletin tries not to tell owners and users what the right kind of pond or pond management is. Instead, they explain principles and describe alternatives from which to choose. Many owners soon discover that having a fishing pond is a bit like having a pet or an automobile. It needs to be well cared for if it is to serve its purpose.
Trying to maintain a prime fishing pond is like striving to keep a hunting dog or racing car in good shape. Performance depends on great attention to details. Do you really have time for that?
I went to grad school at CMU so I know those winter conditions. Snow arrived in early December and stayed until late March-April. Without winter aeration, the pond would have to have some depth of 16-20 ft for a reduced chance of winter fish kill long term, as suggested in the MSU Pond Management Bulletin noted above.
Pond needs a 'good' amount of water depth during MI snowy winters to maintain adequate DO for fish survival. This is not as important when the pond is young (1-10yrs). As the pond ages it develops a higher internal biochemical oxygen demand that consumes more DO during dark conditions under snow and ice cover. Deep water provides a large water volume to surface ratio thus it has more DO available compared to DO consumption during the winter snow cover. It is the buildup of organic inputs that contribute to decay and DO consumption and causes winter fish kills under snow-ice. The shallower the pond is and the more leaves - dead plants it receives the more chance of fish kills; sooner or later. It is nature's way of doing things.
