Dave...I hear you. As I have progressed here some of my fav posts have been about the yellow perch as pond fish. Like most I love the yellow perch and where I was only thinking blue gill or large mouth with some fatheads am now turning towards blue gill, yellow perch and fathead.
This is a fun spot.
if I can get my 8 foot deep pond increased to say 12 to 15 or aerate with say a 10 foot deep pond then seems I can have the perch. I like to think of them as mini walleyes