QA, yes on cattail sympathizer here. I rarely need to effect any control on them around our 1/4 acre pond. Cattails, unmanaged, will only cover about 25% of our shoreline.

We also have some hard stem bulrush in places. I'll occasionally cut out a spot in the vegetation so I can fish without getting my line tangled. We have a bit of shallow water but the cattails don't seem to spread out into the 2 to 4 feet of water. The water level drops several feet during the winter and the ground freezes most years. I don't know if this is inhibiting cattail spread.

I totally get how cattails could become a serious problem is many BOWs. Fortunately, it doesn't happen here.