Thanks fishinrod, yes I usually remove all the algae I can. As I'm removing it I pile it up then later use a fork to pick it up and haul it off with my tractor front loader. In fact, I made a tool for this out of 20 feet of aluminum tube with a shallow dip net on one end and a fishing dip net on the other end for large mats.

My Talapia do die off in winter but the catfish quickly clean them up. I have been trying to remove the catfish and only have bass and perch but not sure I'll ever get all the cats out.

One thing I plan to try this fall is make a couple of sediment fences to try and stop as much of the leaf matter I can from going into the pond.