An update on progress:

I stocked about 4,000 FHM in mid Summer and they started spawning almost immediately. That was followed by papershell crayfish and at least one other species of crayfish that showed up naturally (I believe they are virile crayfish, but I haven't definitively ID'd them yet). I have also trapped a few shiners that made their way naturally, although I haven't definitively ID'd what species. Some PK shrimp went in next, followed by 6-7" YP and 5" SMB (see my post on Extended Transport Times).

As a skim of ice was setting in on the pond a couple weeks ago, I finally got a chance to add some ag lime. The recommendations from TAMU suggest 4,000 of lime to bring the alkalinity above 20ppm (my initial water test showed only 4ppm). I was only able to get 1,400 lbs but I figured it was a start, and I'll put the rest in just before Spring.

I have an 11' plastic boat that I built a platform for. I then unloaded 200 lbs of ag lime at a time onto the platform and spread it as equally as I could by hand throwing it with a plastic scoop. It was not as inefficient as I expected it might be, and it was a good shoulder workout. Here is a photo of my low tech, low budget set up. I wouldn't want to do it on a 5+ acre water body, but for my 1.4 acres it worked fine.

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

My plan for the remaining 3,000 lbs of lime is to spread it on the ice using my little tractor with a 3pt hitch fertilizer spreader that can take 400 lbs at a time. I'll do this towards the end of the winter, just before the ice starts to melt. My hope is that it will settle into the pond basin fairly evenly as the ice thaws.

Soon after that, I'll be out looking for egg ribbons from the YP.

I have a source for Eastern Silvery Minnows and have done a significant amount of reading about them. Typical adult size for them is about 3.5", which seems about perfect for my fishery. Dr. Cody has helped a great deal throughout this entire project including advising on this somewhat obscure forage species that seem to reproduce very readily in a pond environment. They are typically only available in the winter, so I'll be stocking them soon. If all goes perfectly, they will spawn around the same time as the YP, offering my YP a plentiful food source as they develop from fry to adults.

The geothermal went in a couple months ago and is working great to heat the new house so far, costing less than $1/day in electricity to run it ($6/day before my solar array went in).

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

Thanks again for all of the advice from this community.