LakeMat Pro Deep Water Installation from LakeMat

We recommend using a 12’ x 14’ LakeMat Pro in deep water. If you’re not comfortable working in deep water, (it’s not for everyone) think hard about hiring professional divers to install your LakeMat Pro in deep water. It will be easy enough for a diver and well worth the money.

Anything over your head is deep water

Consider deep water is anything over your head. That means, you need to be careful, don’t do it alone and always wear life vests. It also means the more help you have, the better off you’ll be.

The principle of deep water installation is similar to putting a LakeMat Pro in the shallows, walk it out and sink it where you want. The challenge is, a LakeMat Pro XL is a big, (12 by 24 feet), lake weed control mat and will start sinking fairly quickly.

It will get heavy. It’s not bad if you can touch bottom but holding it and trying to tread water is difficult. I know, I’ve done it and it’s a workout. For this reason, the LakeMat Pro Large is a more manageable lake weed control mat  in deep water.

Unless you’re a diver, you won’t be able to push the plastic stakes into the bottom. You can fasten light weights, like bricks, on each corner. But nothing too heavy if you ever plan to move it.

We’ve found leaving a line tied to each corner that’s over your head is helpful when you move a LakeMat Pro in deep water later. Use the line for leverage. You can also use the lines to pull a LakeMat Pro with your boat, (go slow and be careful, if you use your boat for this).

BE VERY CAREFUL WITH LINES UNDERWATER! I got a line wrapped around my foot once. It was tied to a LakeMat Pro XL that was quickly sinking in 8-feet of water. I went down with it. You don’t ever want to do that.

Cleaning a LakeMat Pro in deep water

You’ll need to either move your LakeMat Pro or clean the silt off once a year to prevent new weeds from taking root on top of the LakeMat Pro. Leave it on the lake bottom, it’s easiest.

If you have a device to reach down to it, like a bilge pump, trash pump, submersible pump or something that moves water, use that. Pulling a LakeMat Pro through the water behind a boat works well to clean the silt off, when moving it to a new location.

Of course, using a push broom works just fine, the longer the handle the better, preferably one that doesn’t float. Sweep as much silt off as possible. If you don’t clean it, the silt will build up, making it heavy to move and weeds will begin growing in the new layer of soil.

— Doug Fast