Thanks for the replies! You guys seem more open minded and knowledgable than I had first thought.

I guess its the proven combo of LMB and Bluegill that people like. If they stock apporpriately, they won't have to worry too much about the size and numbers of the fish.

Personally, I come from a family that fished the upper Cumberland river for the available fish, whatever they may be. The most sought after fish was the "Mudcat" (Flathead Catfish) which they trot lined for. I kind of have an emotional attachment to this species for this reason. Everytime I see a huge "Mudcat" I think of my great grandfather and his brother. For this reason, I would like to stock them in my pond and plan to do so. The problem is that no hatchery provides them. Right now I have a 16" and a 22" Flathead catfish in my Koi pond for holding.

When my pond is redone later this fall it should be 3/4 - 1 acre and I plan to stock it with a small number of these fish (hopefully around 10.) I don't expect them to reach gargantuan proportions in this small pond but up to 20 lbs would be nice. Of course this will require a constant stocking of baitfish which I will provide. I have 2 very small and shollow ponds near my house which I will drain and clear of fish, and then restock to be bluegill factories.

I'm also not opposed to experimenting with Bluecats, Longnose gar, Drum, HSB, etc. etc.. We'll see how it goes. Worse case scenaria is that I'll have to start over.

One of the main things that bothers me is when people look down on a particular species of fish just because its not a Bass or a Trout. I'll never understand it.

Thanks
Rex