BC,
This is Todd Overton's reply to my email which basically echos what you were saying:
"Are you sure your existing sunfish are bluegill and not green sunfish? Have any pics of em?
If I were you, assuming your pond has naturally stocked sunfish (green sunfish most likely) and mud cats, then I would go ahead and stock your bluegill, redear sunfish, fathead minnows, largemouth bass, and hybrid stripers all at the same time. If you have existing green sunfish and mud cats, they are predators, and they may sabotage your plan to produce baitfish through spring/summer. In this case, it’s best to stock all at the same time, in balanced ratios, and supply some high protein fish food as a supplement to fill gaps in food availability.
If, on the other hand, your pond actually does have naturally stocked bluegill and not green sunfish, then yes you may already have 1000s of them and you might be ready to go ahead with predators and skip the bluegill..."
So, I plan to fish for both the sunfish and catfish the next few day to get a better idea of what I have. Then I will get back with you and Todd to see what I need to do going forward. I have invited a few friends and their kids over to get as many hooks in the water as possible. Then the kids will go home and some of us dads will do a little night fishing to see if we have any cats. Not a bad way to spend the next few days.
