I used to fish a forest pond where the oak trees were thick right up to the edge of the water. We would catch lots of stunted 10" LMB, but once got a 4 pounder.

The water was ALWAYS stained dark brown (but clear). I would even occasionally "catch" oak leaves on the weight of a Texas-rigged plastic worm.

I believe that oak branches and leaves release tannins and other compounds that create both tannic acid and humic acid in ponds. This is generally pretty subtle and complex chemistry.

I suspect that the soil mineralogy in some ponds effects the water chemistry enough to render a high tannin input harmless. In other ponds, the soils lead to a different water chemistry that does not neutralize the toxicity of the tannins. I believe that may be one factor that contributes to the wide distribution of outcomes among the Pond Boss crowd.

"Err on the side of caution" is probably the best advice when dealing with oak wood in the pond. The only time I would be comfortable with significant oak wood in the water of a newly built pond, would be if several neighbors with nearly identical conditions had already gotten away with it!