Critterhunter, Dave Willis has hit on an important question regarding what your goal is. I'm based in the Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin area, and there are a variety of stocking philosophies available. Is your primary goal large bass or a variety of fish? Unfortunately, it is difficult to have it all, so you should choose one main goal. Many of my customers do want it all, but eventually we usually end up seeking a balanced diverse population.
I think you were right to remove some bass, but go easy, because they are the main reason that you don't have other problems. Also, there is a down side of introducing minnows, shad or shiners. Currently, the pan fish and bass are providing the majority of the forage. If you introduce a large amount of minnows that "take," plus remove a bunch of predators, you could be heading for a real stunting problem that 2 guys fishing would be hard pressed to control (it's no fun trying to catch 200,000 3" crappie). I'd recommend seeing what the results of the thinned bass population are before you take further actions. If you do too many things at once, you have a hard time differentiating the results.
As for the Christmas trees, they are not highly recommended. You can review the habitat discussions on this site for some great ideas.
I hope this helps,
Mike Robinson
Keystone Hatcheries
