I like the fact you are not using a lot of chemicals to remove the algae and cattails. Plus removing them from the pond and dumping them on shore is prudent to prevent internal loading.
Both are coming back though. Cattails have pretty nasty rhizomes, you can cut th etop multiple times, and they will keep reemerging. I have 3-4 cuts on some ponds I'm working. Good news is, you keep cutting, especially down to the water's surface, you will deplete the rhizome. I call it my 3S methods. Submerge, Suffocate and Starvation. I think yours cannot be as well established as mine, over a decade old. Also, your must have come in from the wind or water surface, from the brown seed tops or catkins. I would imagine you have some in the vicinity. Unless you have always had cattails?
The algae is really not that bad. Sometimes it actually goes away with warmer temps and certain other pond events that compete with it. Can't hurt to get it out also. I might consider tinting or introducing some beneficial bacteria to start reducing new growth. Both don't try both. That is a either or. Aeration helps, as well as algae eating organisms. Kudos for attacking the stuff early and being proactive. Imagine letting the stuff go unchecked for over 10 years, that is the usual time a customer calls me.
