I have finally decided to break down and buy something to cut the pond banks. I'm looking at either a used sickle bar or offset flail mower. What do you guys recommend, and why? (my tractor, 50 hp, doesn't have remote hydraulics) Thanks!!

Hmmm...
Tagging for answers.
I have dual remotes and have been pondering the best tool for the job.

I think sickle bar would be longer and that would allow me to stay further away from the slope.

I would look really hard at the sickle bar mower. The flail mower will indirectly still flip grass and weeds into the pond water. The sickle would just lay it down.

I bet you can get an old sickle mower on the cheap at a farm auction.

I use my old DR All Terrain Mower. Run it so it throws the grass away from the water. It's a walk behind, so no danger of operator being thrown into the water under a tractor.

I had a walk behind sickle mower a few years back and it worked well. They are not found very easily nowdays. I think Jari still makes them -

I use a 9' sickle mower and it does a really good job. I need the extra length of the 9 over the 7, just FYI. I can always stay a safe distance from water, and as stated earlier, the grass falls flat instead of being thrown around and in water. Also, need less HP for a sickle.

Thanks everyone! From everything I'm reading, it looks like a sickle will be best for my purposes. Now to find one...

Please be aware a sickle bar takes a LOT of maintenance and has frequent breakdowns if it encounters woody materials.

A sickle is supported on the 3 point and PTO driven. No remotes required for a sickle.

To maintain is a little more, but unless you are planning on cutting hay with it as well, it should be limited if you buy one in fairly good shape.

Mine will cut up to 1/2" willows like a hot knife thru butter.

It is strictly going to be for cutting the pond edges so hopefully, maintenance will be minimal.

Found a John Deere 350 sickle mower that had been cleaned up, repainted, and all new teeth installed for $1500-delivered. Was hoping to find one cheaper, but these things are hard to find and usually worn out when you do find one, so I'm satisfied with it. Thanks for the input everyone!

You can find them on wheels as well. Two wheel models work well for cutting lots of land.

I will retract my recommendation above. Unless the sickle is designed for heavier brush, the blades take a beating on anything more than grass/hay. Hit a thicker hunk of wood? Hit a small stone? Hit wire? You will spend the next few hours with some special tools and spare blades to sort it out.

I recently hit a small piece of wire fence that a deer must have dragged into the field. It tangled into the bar. 6 blades later, two guides, and a LOT of cursing plus two trips to the store I had it working again. It only took about 6 hours to fix.

They are meant for very light cutting only.

I used my sickle yesterday to mow the pond, even mowed 1/2 the yard with it. Nice mowing yard in a cab tractor