Is that floating string algae along the shore?

Looks more like it's floating on the surface, like Duck Weed or maybe Azolla, depending where it is. With no apparent circulation and open to the sun this is always likely to happen.

I will take a pic up close today. @tropicbreezent ~ The water flows out of the pond into a creek on the upper right hand side, so there is some circulation. Last year we didn't have any of this so that is why I'm confused. Thanks for your help!

Looks nice, like a natural wetlands - are birds/wildlife using it? does it smell or if there is a smell is it not unpleasant? Im inclined to say if its not broke dont fix it. If its duckweed fish and birds love it.

So this is it up close...it is blooming??

Looks like there's a lot of algae in there, not what's flowering though. Can't really make out what those flowers are, need a closer photo. But some Utricularia species grow like that. Where abouts is it?

near LaCrosse WI

@tropicbreezent ~ Can I kill the algae? Want to stock trout before the end of the summer.

Think ill try raking it

Algae usually grows when there's high nutrient levels in the water and there's plenty of sunlight. Raking it would be temporary unless you can reduce the nutrient load in the water. There are biological treatments which are bacteria based. They break down organic matter and absorb nutrients effectively starving the algae. You're not going to be able to reduce the sunlight however. Check around pond supplies in your area and see what's available.

Great point Nil - and kinda touches upon what I was wanting to say (but didnt very well). The breakdown of organic matter - be it fish poop, dead leaves, whatever, creates ammonia which needs to cycle thru to nitrite and then to nitrate, where its in a form that can be used by plantlife. If you dont have any desireable plants in place using up the nitrate then ALGAE will be glad to step in to fill the void. IMHO, string algae is far preferable to pea-soup single cell algae because it does at least keep the water clear and some even have a nice beautiful green color (others are ugly brown). Azolla and other tiny water plants are even better IMHO because they can look really lovely, giving a nice natural look to the edges of the pond, they dont stink and are very useable by fish and wildlife for food.

If you dont want algae then some other sort of desirable plant life - be it cattails, lily pads, whatever (someone else will have to advise since Im not good with plants) would have to be in place to use up the nutrients that would otherwise feed the algae.

EDTA: I think I would call your county extension agent to advise since this is a large natural pond and not just a little backyard fish pond. If everything was fine in previous years (was it?) and now it isnt, I would wonder what isdifferent about now. Find what is feeding the algae growth and then do something about THAT. Maybe its fertilizer runoff, maybe theres a big accumulation of dead leaves and muck that needs to be cleaned out, whatever the cause, its better to address that rather than to throw drastic measures at it which may or may not work.

In other words, if the problem is accumulated organic sludge on the bottom thats feeding the algae, then you would want to remove it manually and/or using a "sludge buster" type product (eg Microbe Lift) . To just kill the algae would only ADD to the problem, not fix it.