hello all:
ok, so i am dreadfully unprepared to answer the quiz you guys will give me once I ask my questions....so fair warning.

Recently the skinny bass problem in my dad's pond has reared its ugly head...but in an awesome way. this past autumn, a neighbor landed a 7-8lb bass. This winter I pulled a 4lb bass through the ice. Last year I landed two that were at least 3lbs. (the pike, btw, only got one on a tip-up this winter, 23 inches, skinny and shortly became a pikesicle).

Then, two weeks ago, another neighbor caught another fish (potentially the same one, I suppose), at or above 4lbs. And now it has gone crazy. They want to introduce a bunch of plants to create more cover to convince the larger bass to flock to the area of the pond in front of their dock, and provide an environment for more big fish to grow. They have been telling my dad that they will be planting some mass amount of lily pads, and however much my dad disagrees with the idea, they are adamant.

So...my questions...
1) does anyone know a good resource (online references would be best) that discusses the problematic aspects of lily pads?
2) does anyone know a "breed" of lily pads that could be introduced that would not spread as quickly and dangerously as the other ones I have seen (here in southern IL/Eastern MO, all i hear is that if you get a lily pad, you are stuck controlling them for years...dont know if that is accurate or just poor control measures...but still).
3) can anyone point me to plants that would add what the neighbor(s) are looking for, but would be less problematic?

now, knowing you guys, there will be a slew of questions for me before you can make any educated recomendations. so yet again, i will fail this quiz as i will, as always, fail to provide all the info you need ahead of time...sorry about that.
-7.5 ac, northern illinois, western part of the chain of lakes.
-ridiculously clear water, very little cover (you can see 8 ft to the bottom in the fall, 4-6ft depending on the wind in the summer). Completely surrounded by homes, all use ample fertilizer on their lawns.
-~8ft deep on average. gets to 12 in some spots, even as deep as 16-20 in the deepest area, but normally 8-10ft is what you can expect.
-there are currently thick mats of weeds that they treat for every year. No, i cannot identify, but have asked my dad to snap some pics, which i will post on here if he follows through.
-LMB, NP, BG, BC plus pumpkinseeds, warmouth, and many other BG-like species, or hybrids thereof that look strikingly different from the aforementioned.

Skinny, I have had good success with Texas Water Lilies. They ship promptly and they have a good website. Many varieties to pick from. I'm in southern IL and use "Colorado". This variety has big peach colored flowers and grows in 1-3 feet of water. Mine seem to spread to about 8ft across before die-back in the fall. Much of the time they have 8-10 blooms on each plant. Pads are on the small side at 10 in. or so. I've had them for 4 years and they have not been a hassle so far.

Thanks, Verdehoy. I'll look into them.

where in So. IL are you? I live in Alton/Godfrey, but between me and my wife, we've got family spread from the wisconsin border to the kentucky border.

I know I'm way South, but my experiences with Colorado lilies mirror verdehoy's. Very hardy, slow to spread, and they've handled water fluctuations very well.

You want a hardy hybrid waterlilly, preferably of the small variety. They might spread but they won't take over a body of water like spatterdock (wild lily pads that spread rapidly). They tend to spread very slowly and will die back in winter (although their roots will remain and the plants will return the following year). They come in numerous color variations with a nice flower bloom. Planting 20-30 in shallow (15-20") areas should lead to some nice growth in the warm months before either geese or cold knock them back.

Plant them in mud bottom by sticking the root ball into the mud and placing a rock or brick overtop of the root ball to prevent them from coming dislodged. I advise planting them when water temps are at least 65 degrees, the warmer the water the quicker they will grow and spread.

Here is a good source:

http://www.aquariumplants.com/category_s/9.htm

Skinny,
I'm just south of Waterloo. Monroe county.

Why not artificial habitat instead of the plants?

Whatever you do don't let them go to a local lake and grab lillies from it. Spatterdock and white water lily are what's up here and it spreads fast. While it might look nice for a year or two, it'll soon get out of hand and it will be a problem to control. Go with the Hardy Lilies like what was suggested.

thanks everyone:

I suggested artificial habitat (tried to throw some business at their locally-grown fishiding.com, literally david is like 10 minutes away from my dad's pond). I think they are wary of people still diving off the docks and swimming from shore and hitting them. So, i changed my recommendation to "soft" habitat, like made out of irrigation tubing or soaker hoses or something (I forget who gave me that suggestion like 3 years ago, but thanks).

I have yet to hear the response to those thoughts.

-skinny