I have a problem using `BorderLayout`, but first of all, here is my GUI setup:

[![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/l7MpH.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/l7MpH.jpg)

As you can see, I have 3 different components inside my `JFrame`. Adding the `JMenu` and `JList` works fine. But my `JPanel` should have a **fixed size** so I want to prevent my `BorderLayout` from stretching the panel. I tried everything, `setPreferredSize() setMinimumSize() setMaximumSize() setSize()` but again the layout stretches my panel to fit to the frame. (The panel is added to the frame using `BorderLayout.CENTER`). 

Is there any way to prevent this or do you have other suggestions to manage the problem?