I am NOT one of our stocking plan experts. However, I will certainly keep chatting since many of best memories in life are fishing with my father and brother! I like your goals.

Yes, Redear Sunfish is the correct name, much preferred over a localized nickname that might complicate discussions. The good news is that they are generally much less prolific than Bluegill. (But will usually quickly populate a fertile pond.)

I am not sure that 10 blue catfish will be sufficient to control the population of the RES in a pond of greater than 1 surface acre. However, I think you can add another/more predators later if needed.

It does sound like you have some other ponds on your property to assist with your pond management? Do you have any with largemouth bass? One option would be to catch LMB right before the spawn and when you catch a female that is obviously full of eggs, you could transfer her to the new pond. If you had a female-only LMB pond with your RES, then you would have excellent control of the predator population. You could then add or remove female bass as needed based on the size and number distribution of RES in the pond.

Where did you get your fathead minnows? Did you like dealing with that fish supplier? I did see that Larry's Fish Farm (north of Giddings) does have RES in your area. You might call them now to see if they would have any available this fall if you were ready to stock then. (The little RES will eat all of the little bugs you are observing in the pond until they get large enough to eat the fathead minnows.) If you don't want to stock until next spring, you might ask them about the best calendar period for them to deliver RES.

We have lots of Texas pond owners in the forum. However, I can't recall any off of the top of my head as far southwest as you. However, it is hard to beat "local" advice if some of them drop into your thread.

Good luck on developing your family pond!