I have a very small (about 6000 SF) pond-it seems that most of the inflow comes from a gently sloping wetland on the north side. The north side of the pond is slowly silting in and there is a lot of aquatic grass about 24" high growing in this area. Since it's a relatively small area I was planning on going in and just pulling it all by hand. Obviously this is going to stir up a lot of silt and muck, but I don't think it's avoidable. I want to remove the grass entirely and reclaim that area.

In addition, I was thinking of lining that bank, which is on the far side and very swampy (as opposed to the firm and grassy banks on the south and east sides where I plan to put a picnic area), with some staked-in straw bales in the hopes that they will slow and filter some of the sheet flow coming across the wetlands coming into the pond, and slowing the silting in process. Has anyone ever tried this approach?