Hello,

My pond has had low water levels due to a rotted out vertical standpipe (now fixed).

The levels have been low for years and as a result there is a lot of brush that has grown in areas of the pond. How do I go about clearing that brush and organic matter?

I was thinking an excavator but the pond is probably at least 1.5 acres and is still somewhat swampy and muddy so I wouldn't be able to drive an excavator into the pond itself.

I believe the entire pond is also lined with Clay and I wouldn't want to date to deepen disrupt that. Thoughts?

The pond is in western Washington.

Is the brush/plants exposed?

Yes, the majority of them are brushy plants that you can see growing. I also didn't know if the pond filling with water (due to the newly replaced standpipe) would "drown" these plants and help take care of my problem.

What are the fish type and population goals for the pond?

I think in most circumstances reflooding that brushy young growth would be a huge BENEFIT to the pond.

You should have an explosion of your forage fish in the first two years due to all of that heavy cover. As the cover slowly degrades, then the predator fish will be able to catch up with all of your huge forage base.

Instead of clearing all of the brush material, maybe you could just cut a few "fishing lanes" in the preferred casting locations of the pond?

I assume you have an older pond since the standpipe rotted out. If you think your old pond is too fertile, then maybe take out some of the easy organics? For example, mow and bale the weeds if you have that capability, etc.

Hopefully, some of the good "structure" people on the forum will drop into your thread and give you some solid advice about the trees, but I still think they might actually be an enhancement to your pond - depending on your goals.

Good luck on your pond rehab project!