BM,
Yes, the number of grass shrimp I have is directly proportional to the amount of pondweed.....more pondweed, more shrimp, no pondweed, no shrimp and very few surviving Gambusia. I don't think shore line grasses, e.g. rye, are much if any of a factor. Water grasses are really needed for the shrimp.
It's kind of a conundrum (sp?)...meaning I love the grass shrimp, but hate the pondweed for fishing.
This is one reason I am such a proponent of very limited grass carp stocking. You probably have seen several instances where I strongly disagreed with the pros on the number of grass carp to stock. My view is that some weeds are preferred because of the benefits, e.g. grass shrimp and Gambusia and etc. Stock the grass carp only to the level required to maintain control of weeds, not eliminate weeds...thats my 2 cents.
If you want grass shrimp and lots of other good benefits from weeds, watch your grass carp stocking rates very closely. A weedless pond is not a productive pond, IMHO.
