No No or not sometimes you just have to get wet. I have a pair of chest waders that I use to get in the water, so contamination is kept as much at bay as I can keep it. So when I gear up I do all the water things I can at that time. Removing dead leaves and things like that. Hope this helps.

I think I wouldn't put it far from the edge because if the koi start munching on it, you might want to put pebbles on top or do some damage control. Certainly you can get in the koi pond. You can train koi to go to one end of a pond by putting a screen over a section and feeding them there. Chest waders like aquawise describes are a real necessity for cleaning, etc.

Thanks for the advice. After your suggesting waders, Aquawise, I've been considering buying them. Cabelas has some that are not too expensive and light weight. Then my husband suggested I tie plastic bags on each leg. :-)
Maybe it would catch on as the latest fashion !

Sounds interesting. Show time with him as the first model?????? I use the neopren waders because the water is so cold in the spring, And they last longer. I do not have a problem with my Koi eating my plants, I know that some people cannot have both. It has been my experance (16 years) that if Koi are raised in a planted pond they are less likey to eat the plants around them. I have a Koi that is nearing 30" and never eats her plants. The others in her pond are 26" 18" 15" and the new ones are 12" and 7" all are Butterfly KOi. FYI.

Wader ohhh ohhhh no wonder! Sorry folks but I tend to just sorta slip into the pond with a pair of shorts and sometimes a tee shirt. The pond is 3 foot deep and pretty big. I use a net to scoop out the debris on the bottom. as for plnts my Koi never did eat their plants i did notice they will sometime nibble on a root now and then but I never reall had any thing in the pond other then water hy and such no lilies or lotus. I do have a number of lotus seeds, picked up at a pond shop in NC for free whole pocket full yeaaa I see lotus in the future am going to start slow with them and see what happens.