Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - Coontail Control

Have a small pond with filamentous algae's and coontail growing out to about 4ft. Both are found around 100% of the perimeter of the pond. The vegetation is using too much of the nutrients and clearing up the water in the summer months. If I decide not to go the biological route, what chemicals would be used to effectively target the submergence coontail and algae? And would a granular approach be better as apposed to a liquid approach for targeting submergence vegetation?

I've battled coontail for years. I'll share my experiences with you to see if it helps any. I've finally got mine under control as of this summer, or at least so it seems for now.

We bought land with a 2.5-3.0 acre lake in our front yard. Max depth probably 12'-15'. It already had coontail in it. Over the years the coontail had become progressively more prolific until finally it pretty much choked the lake out. Even in the deepest parts it would grow to the surface and mat up. We evientually had a massive fish die off which seemed to accerlerate the issue. I eventually tried herbicides but the cost was extreme for that much growth and it still wasn't making a dent. I tried grass carp and actually stocked a total of 30 over a few year period without it making a dent. I tried raking but it was so thick and so deep it was an impossible feat for myself with that much surface area. We finally drained and dredged the lake starting three years ago. It was 40 years old at the time.

The lake finally filled up in the Spring of last year. Sure enough, moss and coontail came back and it came back hard and fast but not at the depths we had seen before. I bought a couple of landscape rakes with 6 ft. handles and was able to keep the perimeter clear enough to control it. We also bought grass carp hoping they would get it under control but I don't think they eat the stuff honestly. It looked like we would be okay though seeing that raking it was keeping the areas somewhat clear and I only had to go through the spots once or twice last summer. I also imagine that every bit I take out is also removing nutrients along with it that would otherwise have settled and decayed to feed future growth. When I rake, I drag it up onto the bank and let it sit and dry a few days before I go collect it with a pitchfork and haul it off. It's heavy stuff and back breaking work.

We had cleared all the banks of vegetation to allow more wind access and we maintain it such that we can mow around the entire perimeter. I want to limit organic material that bank vegetation will add to it. I've also installed aeration.

This Spring it came on harder, faster and at greater depths than the first year after the rebuild. I wished we would have dyed the lake at the end of winter as my wife suggested but I wanted to take a wait and see approach but it came on too fast. I started raking but this summer I had to go deeper and make a 6ft. extension for one of the rakes and actually use a jonboat to access some of the deeper stuff where I could walk. As I got to raking, we started dying heavily with black dye. I only had to rake it once this season and it has remained so much more clear everywhere I had hit it. People who had visited in the Spring were amazed at how much better the lake looked as well as functioned as a fishing and swimming hole. I've only had to rake it once this season and it looks like we should be good for the rest of the year. I'm curious to see how it comes on once again after winter.

Next year I'll start dying the lake early and then start raking as soon as the water is warm enough to tolerate. Raking and dying seemed to be what has worked best for me so far and hopefully I'll never allow it to get to the point that it covers the entire surface once again.

As for the moss, I never had a big problem with it until we drained and reworked the lake. It came up pretty strong the past two springs but it peters out after the intial onslaught. Right now the only algae that seems to stick is on top of any coontail mats. The rest of the lake remains clear. It really hasn't been a problem.

Coontail is a scourge and I feel for anyone else who has to deal with. I hope you can keep yours under control as it can completely ruin the recreational value of a lake. I'd also love to hear what other pond owners have done to try to combat their coontail issues as well.

I remember posting in this thread months ago and wanted to come back to it to share what has happened in my lake with my coontail problem since posting about it.

I had raked my tail off during the summer trying to get ahead of the growth. I would say I removed at least half of what was in the lake, maybe a bit more. I did all of the work in the near part of the lake, where the house, dock, and our fishing and swimming area is and I let the back half go.

Well, by Fall, it appeared that the coontail was eliminated pretty much everywhere. The large mats that I left alone disappeared. My wife thinks it was because of my work, and although I'd love for her to believe my muscle and sweat made the difference, I do believe it was the grass carp that must have turned the tide. In less than two years, the grass carp had grown to abouit 20 inches. I caught one fishing with a worm and was amazed at how large it had already grown, at least a few pounds. They may have finally grown large enough to make a difference.

The ironic thing is now I worry that maybe my fishery will be hurt by the lack of vegetation. I have several large brush piles sunk out there but plan to add more in the spring. I have a sizeable dock and am thinking about stuffing the underneath full of brush as all of my other structure I added is away from the swimming and main fishing area around the dock and our home.

One oddity I wanted to share...

After the coontail appeared to be gone, I was mowing along one of my banks and clippings were going out into the water. It looked like grass carp were feeding off the floating clippings. I could see them swimming in the shallows and tapping the surface and it looked to me like they were actually eating it. Now I am left wondering what drawbacks I could expect if the carp don't have much of anything left to eat that is growing in the water.