JWF you are on the right track
-pond dye controls sunlight to shallow waters, keeps shallow weeds in control (but not right at the edge which you can mechanically remove)
-crayfish may work, but that should not be relied on. I would reserve crayfish for situations where you want lots of them to be a source of forage, and, only if you have enough predators to help control the numbers of young crayfish (bass/perch/panfish)
-chemicals do not sound attractive, but there are times where the growth of weeds is so beyond what can be managed by any other means that you either have to use chemicals or you have to use intense pond dye to block the energy source for the plants.
for muck - jury is out on healthy enzymes and bacteria. Lots of forums on this topick, pros, cons, cold water vs warm water, bacteria vs enzymes etc. I think mechanical removal of leaves and weeds, and mechanical stirring of the bottom with aeration will be more reliable.
aeration - depends on depth, access to power etc but can never go wrong, even in a shallow lake like mine where the temperature separation probably doesn't amount to much, aeration at least provides water flow/circulation.
Consider powered agitation of the bottom, rent a trash pump and use it like a power washer to agitate and break up the bottom, or use an outboard motor prop wash, jet ski output etc to mechanically stir up the bottom. This with aeration after will help.
I still struggle with ways to keep the leaves out of the pond but others have posted on this forum with ponds in the woods with heavy layer of leaves and no manual removal and have not had issues.
