If it is, HOLY CRAP literally. This place has an infestation of rats. Cause it’s like this all around the pond with TONS of slides.

whats it taste like?

Yes thats what it looks like.

Can you post a picture of the slides?

Here is one

Yes

Yup....rat droppings

Any huts out in the pond?

Lucky you! I haven't seen rat droppings like that in years! The slides are special too.

1 hut that I know of, but there is a BUNCH of bank dens

Yep it is 'rat poop.

How large is the pond, and in what Ohio county do you live, if may ask? There may not be as many rats as there appear to be. Much of the scat appears to be quite old. I have found in the past those self contained areas of water, (ponds & small lakes) can be misleading. I am not saying it isn't worth your effort to trap it. I am saying don't expect to get 50 rats from the pond when you only may get 10 to 15. Ponds have a way to be misleading. They often have misleading signs, i.e., what appears to be a large number of bank dens may on be 3 or 4 actual dens, with the rest being active feeds... where rats are harvesting the roots from plants and grasses.

Being in Ohio... where I have done most all of trapping for 73 years, I can tell you some things to do to help with your scouting. This is the most perfect time of the years to do you scouting. Go out to you location about 3 or 4 PM and sit down on the bank and observe. Watch where the rats are coming from and where they are going to. Walk the edge slowly and quietly... watch for areas with freshly disturbed soil, in the water, at the edge. If they are feeding up under the bank, you will see possibly a small amount of disturbed soil, but watch for small puff of clouding water... this an active feed. the rat is up under the bank cutting roots from the bottom of the plants. Once he gets his jaws and mouth full of the roots, he will pop out of the hole and head back to his den. There are of course variable to these situations, but they are about 85 to 90% accurate.

Enjoy you rat trapping and I hope you have great success this season, in about 2 weeks.

Garry-

Just trap it and find out how many you can catch . Slides are golden .IF varmits don't eat your catch before you get them.

Based on the picture I wouldn't call this a 'slide' or in other words a muskrat trail. Rather it looks like where they were digging; for roots maybe?.

The picture is kinda weird, but I know it’s a slide/climb out because of how it looks the game trails in the grass leading to it.

The pond is about 5 acres with a creek flowing into it, I’m in Allen county, and there is more fresh piles poop further on.

Any way you look at it, poop piles are wonderful except if they are on the sidewalks of San Fransisco!