I'm kind of mixed on the cattails. I still have a lot to learn, but a pond I drained (and hope to redo this year after a few years of being dry) had cattails around it for probably 60 years. You can see where they were on the bank, but I bet the build up after all that time is still less than a foot deep. Maybe some debris washed to pond bottom?

I like the look. I like the fact that it helps prevent bank fishing. I like that they help hold soil. I like fishing near them. I'm not sure what to think regarding small fish hiding out in them. Is that a good or bad thing or both? I don't want them on my dams or elsewhere that I wouldn't want muskrats digging. I don't want them around my island either; but there are a lot of places around my pond that part of me would like to have them. Maybe (probably) more experience will change my perspective.

FWIW... I had some incredible cattails in one of my ponds as it was filling up. I think they just kept getting taller as the water rose until at some point, the stems couldn't support the weight, they fell over, turned yellow, and died out. You couldn't reach bottom with a long paddle and your arm partially in the water (over the side of the boat). I bet it was close to eight feet deep when they fell over. Once they died out, none grew back in that location.

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