Toby,

It works great for thinning them out. It wacks them off right at the base and they immediately float to the surface. I would wait until they float to shore and rake them out of the pond. But the cattails will regrow.

However, if you have lots, and they are tightly grouped, it is still doable but hard work.

I would suggest wearing gloves and check you rope for weaknesses especially where the rope meets the tool.

One thing I used to do when I had cattails, is I would treat them with a chemical, and when they died and turned yellow, I would then cut them off removing the plant material. I no longer have cattails as they were too difficult to "thin out" in my pond.

If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.