Iowa's 10,000 Lakes

One of Minnesota's famed motto is that they are the "land of 10,000 lakes".  Minnesota, along with Wisconsin, Michigan, and many of the other Northern states are blessed by thousands of deep, glacier-formed lakes.  Unfortunately for the majority of the state of Iowa, the last glacier to sweep across our land only made a small imprint in the NW portion of the state.  That glacier, the Des Moines lobe of the Wisconsin glacier, swept across our land 10,500 to 30,000 years ago.  It carved out many notable Iowa lakes such as Spirit, East and West Okoboji, Clear, Storm, and advanced as far south as Black Hawk Lake in Sac county and Little Wall Lake in Hamilton county.

Unfortunately for the rest of the state we aren't as fortunate to have these bodies of water in close proximity and are resigned to fish the many man made lakes throughout our state.  Another option for us southern Iowa fishermen are the countless farm ponds which dot the land.  The majority of ponds are within a reasonable proximity to our homes and many of the owners are receptive to allow the public to fish them.

Most of these ponds range in the size of one half acre to around five acres.  Generally they are tear drop shaped with the deepest water near the dam and the shallower water coming from the inlet water source.  Most of these ponds will max out at around twenty feet with an average depth of eight to ten feet.  Water clarity and quality is dependent on the surrounding land and the incoming water source.  Some ponds have pristine water clarity with a healthy population of submergent and emergent aquatic vegetation much of the year yet other ponds are the color of chocolate milk and lack aquatic vegetation.

Most ponds offer the chance at catching bluegill, crappie, largemouth bass, and channel catfish unless other species have been stocked.  If a consistent balance has been kept between the predator fish and the panfish, these ponds can offer the opportunity at catching trophy sized fish.  Unfortunately there is an equal chance that this balance can be broken resulting in the stunting of fish.  I could go on about selective harvest but that discussion is for another day and what im trying to emphasize is that not all ponds are created equal.

So, how does one approach these ponds and break them down?  You can start by doing your homework early in the year, during open water.  If weeds are present, see how far out the weeds extend.  Check bottom composition by checking your anchor when you pull it up.  Is it clean, does it have silt on it, does it have "muck", etc.  Sample the fish in the pond; what species are present, what size range do you consistently catch, are you finding them in a certain location, etc?  Ask the owner if he or she fishes the pond or has spoken with those who have fished it.  What are they catching, have they put any structure in the lake, do certain approaches work better then others, etc?  I'm always reserved when I ask about what size of fish they have been catching.  Most fishermen embellish their catches and I can't begin to tell you how many times I've heard of eight pound bass and pound bluegills being caught when that simply isn't the case.  You're better off asking for lengths as it is a more accurate way to gauge the size of fish.

(10" Farm Pond Bluegill)

For bluegills, my approach is pretty simple.  If the lake has good weed growth I will start in the bays which have those weeds and are in close proximity to deeper water.  Generally the depths are going to range from three to six feet of water.  If the weeds are brown and down or it is mid-season and the oxygen levels are low in the shallows I will move out to the base of the first break.  This is the "sticky bottom" area that Dave Genz talks about in depth and is a prime location to check.

Below is a short video I made while fishing a local farm pond.  Notice how the fish are utilizing the base of the break, ie: sticky bottom area, and meander up and down it all day.


Time of day and weather are also determining factors of fish location.  If it is the middle of the day on a blue bird, sunny day I'm bypassing the bays and going straight to the base of the first drop.  This depth can vary depending on the location in the pond, but will generally be in about 14-18 feet of water assuming the max depth is around twenty feet.  If this location is unproductive, I'm going to start drilling further out into the basin in zig-zag fashion until I contact fish. 

(15" Farm Pond Black Crappie)

For crappies, my approach is slightly different then that of bluegills.  If I'm targeting crappies exclusively, I'm going to start my holes out in the middle of the pond and start zig-zagging them back towards that first break.  Crappies are more inclined to be higher in the water column than bluegills so I will start my approach higher up in the water column and work my way down towards the bottom.  Again, time of day and weather play a role.  If it is a bright, sun shiny day then the crappies will probably be more in the bottom third of the water column as compared to an overcast or low light situation where the crappies will generally be in the bottom half of the water column.

(Pallet Tee Pee Structure)

Another key component of these ponds is the structure present in them.  Structure provides cover for the panfish and it also provides a food source since many aquatic insects and plankton will be around and on it.  The best structure is that which is located near deeper water as it will offer cover all winter long for the fish to utilize.

I've found the part of lake near the inlet to be mostly unproductive during the winter.  In many ponds there isn't as much weed growth here since this part of the pond silts in first and is pretty shallow.  Not to say that the fish won't use this area from time to time, just that it doesn't concentrate the fish as well.  You could make the same argument for the shallow bays which don't have weed growth too.  I've seen panfish in those shallow bays while fishing, especially at changing light periods, but not near the same concentration as the sticky bottom and basin areas.

The nice thing about these smaller bodies of water is that the fish can only be in certain areas so you can cut these lakes up pretty quick and find the fish.  On a one acre pond, cutting thirty to forty holes should result in being able to set up some form of pattern of what the fish are doing. If you are willing to hole hop around and find where the active fish are located you may be pleasantly surprised by what lies underneath the ice.

Hopefully some of these suggestions will help you in the future and don't be afraid to knock on a few doors, you never know which pond might be your next honey hole!