OK, here's the details of the lake. It was originally an old slew, that we had dug out and sold the hardwood to help defer the lake costs. The biggest expense was the damn, as it's 1,050' wide. We got heavy rains, as the lake filled in less than 9 months, and was a huge mud pit.
I had called Bob about the clarity, and the emergence of Pennywart and Water Primrose which I was overly concerned with. He was making a loop, and came by while in route to another lake. When I saw him again several years ago at the Arlington PB Conference, he remembered the lake, and reinforced my opinion that his visit was the best money I spent on my lake. He is that good.
He walked the lake with me, and I got a whole issue of Pond Boss info during our face to face. I fought the weeds for several years after that, not ready to accept the fact that it was just the natural order of things here in Texas. Control, not removal was the answer.
About 3 years ago, the silt just dropped, and I had a beautiful clear lake.
Then, the fun began. I immediately had weeds everywhere, and sprayed and fertilized heavily.
I started feeding the bream, and started selective spraying in sections. Never completely removing the weeds, because the fry and bream where in them everywhere. Now, I spray 3 times a year in sections, and never spray more than 100' sections. The payoff was immediate and positive.
Bob had explained to me that if you remove all weeds, something else will take it's place. He was absolutely on target with that. Currently Pennywart and American Lotus are my adversaries, and Bob had specifically warned me about the Pennywart. It is the most invasive weed I have dealt with, and I'm currently spraying it right now in late March.
The biggest things I learned from Bob, was to relax, get a good water test, and you can't fight nature. As I said, I've cut back spraying, and introduced Tilapia for FA control. I've felt no need for grass carp, and have dramatically cut back my chemical expenses.
I'm currently adding more structure, and I'll post those pics soon. Spoiler alert, you won't believe what you can do with coffee cans
Thanks for the positive comments, Al
