Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Fertilization Fertilizer for shoreline vegetation growth

I have a 12 acre ski lake in NC with 10:1 shallow shoreline for about 20 feet before it drops off. I use to have a lot of shoreline vegetation(which I want) for resisting the boat wakes. My shoreline vegetation (cattails and rushes)has been reduced the past few years due to muskrats and unruly carp. My question is do you pond owners find that spreading fertilizer just above the waters edge will help/speed up the shoreline growth of my cattails and rushes or do you find that it does not seem to make much difference? Just curious before I try it next spring. My soil is mainly silty sand. Thanks.

I think it will speed their growth, but a side effect of the fertilizer could be a FA outbreak.

Since my lake level has dropped nearly a foot this year due to the lack of rain approximately 10 feet of bank was exposed. I spread 200 lbs of slow release 16-4-8 on to the shelf to aid shoreline veg growth (which it has). The lake was clear to about 6 feet and now the visibility is approx 12". Lake color so far has gone from very light green to almost brownish in color. PH is about 8.2 and water temp is staying between 82-84 degrees. I am surprised that with the fert that I used it affected the 12 acre x 9' deep lake that much considering I was very careful when spreading it out to stay away from the waters edge. How long will it be before things start to clear back up? Thanks.

Is there anything that you can add to the shoreline besides vegetation to help with erosion? Rocks?

I'm just trying to think of things that won't be affected by carp or muskrats.

10:1 is a pretty shallow slope. Was it built this way to beach the ski boats, or gain walk in access to the water?

If this water drop is not the norm, you may try over seeding a fall crop of some type winter grass for a temporary fix. My guess is that it would take a lot of rocks to cover that much shoreline.

Perhaps controlling the muskrats would be the cheapest solution.

Nothing beats a couple of unsightly brush piles to slow down water.

Having cattails in the pond attracts the muskrats because they like to eat the roots of cattails.

Shallow banks is because it is a ski lake. I do have some cattails, spikerush and sedges already growing in some areas, I was simply trying to help speed up the process.

Any idea when my lake will begin to clear up due to the fertilizer as noted above? Thanks.