Welcome VA, I am trying to open the same can o' worms. I want more of a BG pond too for my small newly renovated pond. It would appear that there is ALOT to this decision and there are many experts here to help us that are new to the hobby of pond management.
The following summary is what I think I have learned here on Pond Boss...
A more natural, lower maintenance, roll of the dice direction is to use BG that are suited for your area, RES for snail/parasite control (if they are suited for your area), a predator like LMB and/or CC, and, of course the FHM to get the pond started. It is a roll of the dice to some degree because you never really know which way mother nature will take your initial efforts. You will want to initially stock the appropriate numbers of fish that lend themselves to an overpopulated amount of stunted bass within the first few years. This keeps the number of predators high in the pond so that the BG do not get overpopulated and stunt too. Removing all the LMB over about 14 inches keeps the bass from getting so big that they eat your larger BG. It seems like good advise to add the FHM a year before any other fish are added so that they can reproduce and create a lot of forage for the BG and LMB. FHM fry for the BG and the adults for the LMB. These FHM will soon be gone once the other fish are big enough to enjoy them as snacks. The downside to this approach could be that if left unmanaged, you could end up with a pond full of puny starving fish after several years.
The other approach would be to stock hybrids that do not reproduce or do not reproduce as much as the naturals and feed them. This approach allows you to pick one type or even a variety and be their caretaker by feeding them regularly. The down side is that you will need to restock as you harvest and feeding them may be best on a somewhat continued basis due to the lack of fry as forage.
As far as stocking numbers go, I have extended my limited abilities and will read what others have to post for you.
Here are a couple favorite reads of mine for BG management...
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=189988http://bigbluegill.com/forum/topics/why-everything-you-know-about-bluegill-management-is-wrongEnjoy and Welcome to the community!
