Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations I want a catfish pond but have bluegill crowding

I have a half acre pond that is probably 40 years old. My grandfather managed it for catfish until he died about 15 years ago. I've fished it for catfish several times over the last few years and haven't caught any. But the pond seems to be overcrowded with bluegill. I've thrown a baitcasting net, used traps, and fished for bluegill and gotten tons of them in the 2-4" range, very few that are any bigger. I would like to get the pond back to what it used to be, a channel catfish pond. Do I need to drain it and kill off the bluegill (and anything else) and then stock it with catfish? Or is there another way to do it? The bluegill overcrowding problem would stunt the catfish if I stock it with catfish, right? I have a bass pond on the same property. Would it work to put some bass in this pond to control the bluegill numbers? How many?