One of my ponds is 1/3 acre. It started out as a settlement pond for the ponds below. It catches a lot of debris.
I've not had much success cleaning ponds with trash pumps.
If you can get near the shoreline on all sides, I'd recommend renting a small excavator or medium size trackhoe. They are very easy to operate. They have small dozer blades that allow you to spread the muck if you don't pile it up too high. (Note: Thick muck is not great for growing a lawn or pasture -- spread it thin.)
The picture below is kind of extreme photo for a small excavator, but it shows what I'm suggesting.
No, you can't get everything, but you can take out quite a bit of muck, out to 15-20 feet from the water line. Even more if you can get few feet into the water line. If you draw the pond down a few feet, you can get a lot more. Just don't drive it into the muck.
I believe that tilapia are legal where you live. If so, during the following late spring after cleaning it out, I'd add tilapia for at least three seasons. They can really do some serious muck reduction, plus they add a lot of forage for your top predators. I put about 100 3-4 inch tilapia into each of my ponds in May each season when the water gets to about 70 F degrees. They grow pretty fast in 80-85 F degree water. They die in the fall when the water gets down to less than about 60 degrees, so they don't become invasive.
Just some alternatives to think about ....
Ken
