#1 Too many unknowns. Do you own a snorkeling setup?
Get in there, swim around & check the amount & size of the fish.
Take notes. How many stumps, fallen trees & type of structure are present?
Check for bait,,, minnows, crabs, snails. Any bottom suckers like carp, cats, Amurs.
Check out the bottom. Is there any sand or rocks visible? How thick is the muck?
Above all, what types of grass or weeds are present? Are they top to bottom,,, choking the lake?
Buckeyebowman & I know very well what a weed-choked stripmine lake will produce.
(To answer some of Bronzebackfinaddict's questions)
Our club waters (3 -150 acre+ lakes) are 25'-30' deep, 'crystal' clear, and were totally choked with cattail, coontail & stickgrass. The muck on the bottom was 2'-3' thick and building fast. We lost the crabs, snails, fresh water clams and most of the sandy shoreline for the panfish to bed in. Seemed like all of the bass & panfish were stunted.
I snorkeled just about every ft of shoreline, for years,, watching 'it' go down hill. The weeds, & the sludge it made, were killing our lakes.
So I acquired a 3" suction pump, 300ft of exhaust hose, and made a floating dock to put the pump on. I was attempting to pump out the black methane-filled sludge from the shallows.
I was stopped in my tracks. The club's board said that I would silt up the water & ruin the lake's visibility! %$#@!????
So again,,,, About 12 years later, the club PAID a construction company about $20,000 to suction out 1 acre! (same pump, same hose, same idea as I had )
IT DIDN'T WORK WORTH A DAMN. The weeds all came back, & so did the muck.
Just A bunch of money over the 'Dam'.
Then 'we' stocked 500 Amurs. WAY over-kill! They ate everything! No more weeds, no more cattails & not a blade of grass in the whole lake!!! Now, It looks like they are even eating the MUCK. ?
Now we have to stock like crazy,,,, and add a butt-load of non-decomposing structure. Steel, plastic, bricks & concrete.
We'll just have to watch and learn,,, see how a totally weed-free lake will survive.
IF you have a pond/ lake that's choked with weeds, I'd suggest draining, drying & dredging,,,,, refilling & restocking.
STARTING OVER,,,, with the right amount of amurs!