Ugggg, Elodea! Hate the stuff.

Elodea spreads thorough fragmentation. So if you try to mechanically remove it and leave any fragments in the water it can drift around your pond and begin to grow somewhere else. I used the vary same process that you are describing - using a weed razor and then raking it out and it was a HUGE mistake (at least in my pond). The Elodea came back with a vengeance and had spread to areas of my pond that it had not been before. I am no expert but I DO NOT recommend mechanical removal of Elodea.

I had the best results using a reward/cutrine mixture to control Elodea. I treated about 20% of the pond at a time (so as not to cause a massive oxygen crash) and worked my way around the pond. The reward/cutrine mixture worked wonderfully for me.

I still use it to spot treat the pond.

Here is a good thread regarding Elodea...

Elodea overgrowth in trout pond

JHAP
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"My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives."
...Hedley Lamarr (that's Hedley not Hedy)