Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Balance of plants in the environment cattails, are they of any use to fish?

Hi all,
My well established pond is doing fine, and will need to be harvested a little more aggressively next year for bass as they are new. My goal is to have a sustainable population of healthy fish to catch and observe while still using the pond for an occasional swim.
Along a little less than half the shoreline, primarily on the uphill side, I have let cattails have their way. They lend a very natural look to the pond I enjoy, and the redwing blackbirds love them. They extend about 3’ out from the shoreline where the water gets too deep for them.
What I have observed is the smaller YOY fish don’t seem to hang around them much, seemingly preferring the shallows in more open areas. However, the cattails are so think, it is hard to observe what is going on in there. Thus the question.
I need to consider some other cover and structure in the pond for larger forage and bass as most of what I placed years ago have dissolved away. I am curious on how cattails may contribute.

Side notes on cattails: they seem to do a good job of slowing waters and capturing debris from runoff events before it enters the main pond. Also the birds and frogs love the cover. I am sure they also help control excess nutrients from feeding the fish, as I have not had other plants explode in vigor since introducing bass and feeding them regularly.

I don’t let them expand beyond their current boundaries, which is fairly easy to do from the water,

Cattails do have good benefits. They are best utilized in a pond when controlled. They can spread quickly, they grow too tall (7-9ft) and one cannot see nor fish over them. They produce too much fodder to die and sink and contribute volumes to organics. I have seen them grow to 6 ft deep. If you cut them off underwater in fall the roots will drown. Roots need the stems above water to get atmospheric air during the winter dormant / ice period. There are also some good herbicides that can be used to reduce cattail patch size.

There are better, IMO much better shoreline plants than cattails. Species such as Native aquatic iris (blue flag, yellow iris spreads too fast), sweet flag, lizzard tail, the several species of spike rushes and the reeds of Juncus and Scirpus. Juncus (rushes) and Scripus (bulrushes) do not grow densely together and underwater stems allow small fish to swim freely among the stems. There are some taller forms (2-3ft) of spike rush (Eleocharis) that do not get as tall as the reeds and bulrushes. These aforementioned marginals do not grow as tall as cattails, do not spread as fast, nor do they produce as much fodder and are IMO much better small fish habitat. Although left uncontrolled or not managed they will spread as almost all plants do when unmanaged. Try removing some of the cattails and replant with some of the suggested species - purchased or collected from wild habitats.

Thanks for the info.
I have tried to establish other marginal plants, but most don’t do well with my fluctuations in water level, losing 2ft most summers. The cattails put up with it just fine, and lilies are out further and don’t care. But marginals mostly dry up and die. Otherwise I certainly would!
Blue flag iris does survive, but it doesn’t do well in my poor clay soil. It also prefers to be right at the highest waterline. Yellow is darned aggressive and near impossible to pull out by hand, I have a bunch of them that need constant control and removal of seed pods. Again, at the waterline. So I am stuck with cattails.
I could probably kill some off, and plant some other stuff in their compost at this point. I have a feeling though that my level fluctuations will prevent success.
Meanwhile, my garden pond is overrun with desired plants. I certainly have a source!

Have you tried the rushes or bulrushes? They grow in ditches around here that dry up in summer.