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BAK,
Welcome to Pond Boss...tons of good info and helpful folks here. Someone should be along soon with good advice with regards to your issue. When you have some time, post some pics of your project.

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Welcome to PBF BAK!

Might be just my computer but, I'm not able to open the picture you posted.

BAK,
I saw no pic on the attachment as well.

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Another welcome. I don't know about Gypsum. Amazing what a difference water makes. I presume the full pic is from before it was pumped. Did you do anything to make sure there were no hiders in the mud?

BAK,
I am curious to know how you arrived at the amount of gypsum to add to your pond? The conventional way that I know of is to have the pond full of water with the clay suspension and turbidity present. A gallon jar of the turbid pond water will then have a measured amount of gypsum dispersed into the water and the floc (clarity) is monitored. If the water has not cleared, then add another measured amount of gypsum. This is done until the water clarity meets your satisfaction. You then will need to know the approx. volume (in gallons) of the water in your pond. With that, a calculation can be made as to how much gypsum will be required to clear your turbidity or clay suspension. Check out the link below. Further down in the download, it will explain in detail the jar testing method about how much gypsum to use to clear up your pond.

http://soiltesting.tamu.edu/publications/SCS-2013-02.pdf

Here's two of BAK's pics. Welcome to Pond Boss!!

Wow those are some steep sides, I can see the clay sloughing off. I have a pond with some sides that are nearly 1:1, and when I drained and seined it the same thing happened.

If you are convinced your fish are all dead, I'd refill and if your turbidity persists contact Rex or Rainman from the forum and have him come down and perform an alum treatment. If there is any water left I'd treat it all with Hydrated Lime to spike the PH to 11 and ensure all fish are dead before refilling.

Depending on your goals, maybe get some structure in there...

+1

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BAK,
Structure is a necessity...I input limestone, Christmas trees, PVC structures made with 5 gal buckets, and made vented gutter drain pyramids for structure. There are a lot of ideas here on Pond Boss if you have time to peruse the archives. Cedar trees work well if you have some on your property that you can cut down, as well as rock structures as mentioned earlier. Good luck with your water clarifying project. Please post what you learn in the process...and as always, pics are worth a thousand words...

Even tho you saw fish go belly up in the muddy water, I would use hydrated lime to ensure that all the fish are dead.

Question for experts,
Now that his pond is dry, would it be helpful if he planted quick growing grass? to have a root system over the clay or would just add gypsum/lime be sufficient? I would think that even a shallow cover of grass would hold a lot of that clay down even after the rains and water come back..and even when its dead and gone as the root systems may stay in place for a while.

What do you guys think?

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Nice fish. Looks like a good start.

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The HSB look in good condition. How is the forage ?

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Did you prosecute the thieves? I believe I would have. It's expensive to feed a bunch of fish.

Can I ask how you caught them? And were the HSB alive or dead?

Perhaps some trail cameras, signage, etc. might help deter future thieving?

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bluegills on beds at 3-4" will lead to a huge population explosion if they have enough room and food to keep spawning.