Hello I own a farm that has a probably around 1/4 acre pond on it. It currently has crappie that I know of and some bluegill in it. I have yet to see a bass hanging around... anyway, over the past few years the cat tails have taken over the pond. To the point where there is only about a 6 foot break in them that you can fish from shore... the pond is also very algae thick... so, I am trying to figure out what I can do to revive this pond. It is an excellent fishery for crappie... but only during their spawn weeks because there isn’t a lot of space to fish anywhere but this small spot. basically I am wanting to get rid of cat tails, and add some large mouth bass... what is my best option for preventing the growth of the cattails again? I have access to tractors, and most things I would need, I just want to know the process to make it more fishable, and look better. The water is around 11-12’ deep in the middle... what would I need to do to prevent so much algae growth... I can post pictures if that would help... there is a ton of frogs, tadpoles, lizards and all kinds of smaller things in and around the shore. It has been here for a long time, and a few years ago the pond turned over and the fish died except for the crappie. So I am wanting to start managing this pond, making it better, and making it suitable for largemouth bass, and crappie. What can I do to reduce the amount of plant growth in the pond? Do I need to dig the cat tails up, and make the sides of the pond deeper so the shallows are around 2-3 feet deep? What can I do to get rid of cat tails and keep from coming back?

Welcome to the forum!!!!

The best way would be to dig up all roots on the cattails....there are some chemicals that will work, with surfactants. I'd opt to dig them out since they grow in relatively shallow water of about 2-3 feet. Your pond has a goal in life of filling back in to what it was before dug.

It would be highly unusual for "Only Crappie" to survive a pond turn-over...Crappie are a VERY fragile fish when it comes to environmental changes and stressors. If the Crappie look healthy, they must be eating something!! Crappie are notorious for a few good years of fishing before badly stunting and leaving the pond with countless 2-3 inch fish that can be several years old...