George :

I agree with your thought process/conclusions but have different facts in our ponds. With little bank fishing and remote location and larger ponds and limited shallow water the cattails are just to invasive to stay. Manual removal alone could get to be to big a job quickly so I opt to keep them out altogether. I do like the way they look and would let them grow in the proper pond/place. A few came up at one pond and we liked the visual effect so they were allowed to overwinter and summer. That was a mistake as they spread to many locations with the potential to take over to high a % of the shallow water spawning area. ewest