Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - Stock now? Stock later?

I have read through a lot of the old threads and seen a million questions about goldenshiners, I think mine's a little bit different. I have stocked golden shiners in my pond on several occasions, and as far as I can tell they've all gotten devoured. I used to see schools of them in the shallow end but their presence dwindled. I've tried sitting traps out and never caught any so I'm thinking they've all been eaten. I want to try it again but with a little bit more of a plan. I don't have anywhere nearby to purchase in quantity so I've ordered from Anderson minnow in the past. I was thinking of ordering a thousand of the small ones and 5 lb of the brooders. I do have a lot of cover in my pond, both vegetation and wood. The thought was it would give the brooders more of a chance to survive if there were a bunch of small ones for the bass and perch to Target. My main objective is to get a successful spawn as I don't think I ever have. Would it make sense to stock them at this time of year, or just wait till the spring? I've also thought about putting the brooders in a cage and trying to get them up to maybe 6 in or so before releasing them so that they have a better chance of survival. If I were going to do the cage route would it make sense to stock them this late in the year? Any opinions are appreciated

I started the forage pond project as somewhat of an accident (needed fill dirt). Decided why not give it a try as I think I have too many predators in my main pond (1/8th acre) to establish shiners. The forage pond is about 12 ft X 10 ft and around 3.5 ft deep. I can run aeration if needed. I kept the pond small as I didn't have a ton of space and I wanted to make sure it wouldn't be too difficult to seine or net fish out.