I guess it all comes down to what you want, I hear the same horrific tales about trying to have a pond full of forage and perch only but I have never met anyone who wanted crappie or perch in a pond for any other purpose than to have tasty fish fry's every week, any of the bass to me is just a fun fish to catch, taste like an old fishermans socks to eat though, and I wouldn't consider stocking them in my own pond. Everyone has a slightly different goal in mind here and you may be surprised at just how many fish one man will harvest in a years time helping to keep the balance in his pond. Personally I can make good use of 200 to 300 perch or crappie a year. Combine that with the YOY that get eaten by the big breeders I plan to leave (since larger fish are more fun to catch and release and eat more YOY helping to keep that balance), I really can't see how things could go that awry. In any case, I would like to see more posts on how folks manage their ponds for fish fry fodder than for trophy fishi anyway, the proof to me is in the fish you get to eat.
