WOW! It seems Redhorse is a lady Pond Meister (maybe not). As noted in "No cattails per my husband. It's his only request for the pond besides how the dock is designed."
Welcome. I lived in Pgh 10 years and I know your area. 1.5 acre is a big pond for me and my management experience but it is very doable for your goals which I have lots of experience with and actually are my expertise aka Pond Doctor.
Answers will take awhile. You are lucky that sample analyses are slowing down now and I have some time for this. I did biology water sample analyses all the while I worked for an environmental firm in PGH.
Be sure to read the postscript.
Your reading of things here has gotten you I think off to a very good start.
1. Your FHM have gotten you off to an excellent start base for forage fish. As you now know FHM males are not that much larger than females and obviously the shipment was close to a 50:50 M-F mixture. Isn't it truly amazing how many offspring 500 FHM can produce. It always amazes me what they can do when they "do their thing" without any predation. The stocking of a lower than normal density of breeder FHM(500) did have a benefit. Fewer were produced and those produced were able to grow and mature fast due to less competition. Truth be known most of those original FHM are probably 'gonners' if you believe the literature which says mature FHM adults usually live one spawning season after producing all those youngsters that your pond now has. However my experience shows some or a good percentage of the hardy ones will live to spawn the second year. Some of this has to do when during the season, as early or late, they were hatched. Some Minnow trapping this spring will confirm or deny presence of 2021 breeder FHM.
2. Your goals are lofty,,,, however I don't think you are going to be able to locate and stock BNM and SFS. :-(. They are more rare to buy than smallmouth bass in the springtime which often cannot be accomplished.
3. The Plan. Spring 2022, I'd like to put in breeder sized RES, SFS, BNM, and appropriate crayfish. Also two sizes of YP, maybe a month after the forage species. Late Fall 2022 I'd like to add SMB big enough to hopefully spawn the following spring. After that, spring or fall 2023 I'd like to add some WE and HSB, and will ladder stock as needed.
A. leave the crayfish out until all the plants are established. Crayfish thrive eating plants both algae and submerged species. A strong population of crays will eliminate plants. I can help with locating good crays via PMing me.
B. Since you have experience with and have an aquarium buy from aquarium suppliers the eel grass NOW and plant and nourish it as best you can this winter in an aquarium. Grow it until the plants are reproducing and thriving inside,, then transplant some into they pond as they the inside population expands. I can help you via PMessaging to find the right varieties that should live in the pond. Very Good idea NO CATTALS. There are numerous very good marginal plants besides cattails. However with 1.5 ac of shoreline you will need to be diligent at keeping up-start cattails from establishing on the shoreline. I do not let the first cattail establish in any of my ponds. It promptly and timely gets pulled and up rooted. I assume that you have read through this thread from our Common Pond Q&A in the Archives:
https://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=440475#Post440475C. Some larger breeder RES this spring can be added for 2022 spawning.
D. Both sizes of YP can be added this spring provided they are pellet trained so they eat more pellets than small FHM. Pellet trained YP are welfare fish and would rather eat hand out pellets than work catching minnows. No pellet trained YP, then add those YP in fall 2022. I think you should be able to find some 4"-6" plus several 6"-8" pellet trained YP for a late March or the 1st week of April prespawn stocking from western Ohio within a 2-2.5 hr drive. Healthy well fed even 4"-6" YP at one year old can produce spawns. Although several 6"-8" YP will insure good egg production. Show up with money and good fish farms will send you home with your fish in oxygenated bags. Easy peasy. You will only need a low number of YP and RES for 2022 spawns IF you get both of them prespawn. Give me a town where you live and I will help calculate driving distances and suppliers. I am a member of Ohio Aquaculture and know and can help you locate YP growers and maybe I think even your RES.
E. Add your SMB in 2022 fall because you likely will not find any locally this spring. Shipments of smb maybe,,,, but you will not be finding them locally. Besides the fall of 2022 will be the appropriate time to stock SMB and or some HSB. SMB fingerlings stocked in the fall will do very well with your stocking plan despite what DD1 says above as " Thought; it takes 10 pounds of forage for a predator to gain one pound. I don’t see a prey fish on your list that provides that."
DD1 is very correct if your goal is to grow trophy bass or even FAST growing bass BUT that is not your plan. Your plan will grow SMB. it is just you will not grow really big ones fast. However your plan will easily grow 14" to 16" smallies; it just may take a little longer as in 5 years instead of 3 or 4. Also the secret to this success would be to just initially stock fewer smallies so each ones initially has plenty of food. Thereafter it will me your management duty to keep the SMB numbers thinned or reduced so you do not have as many "hogs feeding at the trough". Thus each remaining predator gets ample food that the pond is able to produce. A well managed 1.5 ac pond will provide you will lots of harvestable fish especially if high protein pellets are used.
F. SUNIL above says "In my mind, the Yellow Perch are both a predator and a prey fish. Larger Yellow Perch may be able to eat smaller SMB". Technically bluegill and just about every panfish is predator and forage fish during their life. Panfish esp YP in the 2"-6" range eat mostly invertebrates and if available will often learn to eat pellets if things are correct. When YP get to 7+" they will eat some minnows in their daily diet if that YP has not learned to eat pellets. Then if eating pellets they are pellet hogs; filling their belly as often as they are offered pellets. Do not worry about any size YP eating or over eating stocked or 3"-4" SMB. Big YP as in 8"-13" pond grown YP focus on eating 1"-1.5" minnows if they are available. And this happens mostly when those YP are offered pellets as in very early prespawn, very late fall and during winter when pellets are not fed. Larger YP will eat this 1" to 1.5" fish size until it is scarce then those big lazy YP have to resort to catching the larger 2"-3" minnows/fish which is actually pretty hard for those perch to do because the perch are not as quick and fast ad as aggressive predators as a small bass. Thus the larger perch will often resort to feeding on invertebrates when small minnows are in short supply and mostly large hard-to-catch minnows are all there is to eat. OR if your perch are pellet feeders then they are VERY VERY happy just eating the welfare no work pellet food. :-)))))
That is how you grow big perch fast.
G. One more item. I highly recommend to not stock the channel catfish into your plan for this pond, at least not for the first 5-6 years. CC and be successfully added later if desired. In my experience each CC will take the place of at least one bass. So it comes down to would you rather have CC or bass? Also CC will eventually spawn in your pond. I am not sure how well your planned fishery will be able to control the numbers of CC who could eventually dominate the fishery.
Well there you have it on my ideas of how to continue forward.
For reference about 20 years ago I published 3 articles about growing YP in small ponds in the now defunct Pond Harvest Magazine. . The info is a little dated and I am very slowly working on at least 5 yellow perch growing articles for Pond Boss magazine. The PB editor and I might decide to turn this into a small booklet. If you need to read those earlier 3 articles contact me for email copies. However follow my suggestions above, and hereafter and your pond will no doubt be successful. If not I know my way to western PA for a pond visit although those are rarely ever needed.
POSTSCRIPT - Important note deals with the goals as I understand them suggests that this is not a primary emphasis sportfish pond for optimum balance and maximum fish size nor high production. Ponds can be initially stocked using fewer numbers of some breeder species if fishery balance and optimum growth is not of primary importance. The initial stocking of pond fish using fewer breeder species is a method and can be very successful if done with proper timing, in the correct order, using the proper species and with good knowledge of the ecology of each species. Good background experience helps too. This method is sometimes more successful than the common Fish Farm initial stocking method of adding all fish at the same time.
