Funky, I think in time you will go evolve a bit back and forth on your feelings about FA. When my pond was new, I raked furiously and the goal was total annihilation of FA. Then my back told me enough was enough and I considered chemical control. Then one year I did tilapia and loved every minute of it. They controlled the bulk of it, I had a thin rim on the shore line where the TP must not have been comfortable coming in to eat it. When it would get a bit thick I'd rake for 'aesthetics' but I soon found that it was a mistake to be FA free. When I raked I found that the FA on the edge was the preferred home for all kinds of cool critters, water bugs, tadpoles, fish fry, frogs, turtles, and my ghost shrimp. I was taking away their habitat and their refuge.
my goal now is to keep some FA on the edges at all times. It can be stringy, nasty and not fun to fish in but right now it is a haven for many living things.
I don't know where in MI you are but we are fortunate enough to be allowed to have TP in our ponds. I would seek some out, they are a cool species to watch and they give back to the pond in return.
