Dave,

I used a small track hoe (excavator) to do exactly what you're talking about...I was able to reach out several feet into my pond and take out a lot of shore line bottom muck...stacked it on the bank and then used my tractor to spread and disperse...depending on the size you get you can take the bottom level down as deep as 12 feet...I went down to 5-6 feet with a mini-excavator...cost about $300 for a week's rental...I didn't drain or dry, simply reached into the water and started digging...used the arm as a gauge for bottom depth...the equipment is not at all hard to use and just about all rental places will give you a short course on the operation...one drawback to this method is you'll create some muddy water...I didn't care, it did settle out over time and didn't harm my fish...I did get a bloom shortly after the process, I think probably because I release a lot of nutrients during the whole process...I'll be doing it all over again this summer 'cause I'm expanding !