I planted some hybrid lily plants while my pond was filling, a lot easier than when it is full! Same goes for a dock.
Take your time stocking, but for the most part establishing the forage base first and giving it time to "settle" is a good idea. While you are feeling this first year or so out, you will get an idea where to put additional structure. It is also a good time to try planting desirable plants to get a leg up on the undesirable ones. The sooner you can get desirable plants established, the better! They will then "steal" from the not so pleasant plants to keep them under control.
So if I were you, I would stock fathead minnows any time the water is cold, but not frozen of course. These little guys will reproduce like crazy at the earliest opportunity. Once you can walk across their backs, it is time to *slowly* introduce predator fish. I like the idea of ladder-stocking myself, as it gives your pond a chance to catch up and settle in to the changes.
My big mistake was putting in walleye, black crappie, and yellow perch at the same time and size. The walleye could only eat fatheads, and starved soon enough. The YP and BCP out-competed them and helped to make the FHM go extinct. If I established FHM first, then the YP a year later, waited a year or two for the perch to spawn once or twice, then introduced the WE, I likely would have had much better balance than I do now and would be fishing for some amazing WE. Instead I am targeting massive perch.
If planning on swimming, no bluegill or sunnys. They like to nibble/bite inconvenient locations on your person.
