Etd, I am in gasport NY and have a small 3yr old pond and have the same water depths as you. I am in the third year of my stocking plan and I am seeing great growth rates and my fish are very healthy. I started with fatheads as feeders and allowed them the run of the pond for a year to get established. We can talk about the structure I added for a new build so the minnies have a place to hide if you want. The second year I added LMB and Yellow Perch I added them at 3-5 inch fish and they the LMB are to 8-14 and the YP are 9-13. I hand feed twice a day and suppliment with 2-3 lbs of minnows every two months. I just put in 30 sunnies to breed feeders for the established preditors. I am not a pond pro like most of the guys on this board but I am in your area and so thought this info may help. Buy the way your concern about winter die off is not an issue I have not lost any fish to a winter dieoff the herons are the only fish killers you will have to worry about.
Hope this helps
Scott
