Some of Iowa's best fishing for largemouth bass, bluegill, and channel catfish
is provided by properly stocked farm ponds. Each year, farm pond owners host
some 1.6 million fishing trips by licensed anglers. Farm ponds also
support fishing valued at $7.5 million per year. The DNR stocks over 600
acres of ponds in a year, and has set up programs to assist farm pond owners
in the stocking of their ponds. One popular program is the farm pond
program, which assists landowners with the management of the over 10,000
farm ponds in Iowa.
The DNR stocking program for ponds was initiated to assist landowners in
their efforts to provide quality angling experiences to all persons. It is
successful and well-respected because it is based on research funded by fishing
license dollars.
How do I stock my farm pond?
Fish can be obtained for a nominal fee to stock your farm pond from the Iowa Department
of Natural Resources if your pond meets the following criteria:
The pond must
be new or renovated and be free of fish.
Surface area
must be of at least 1/2 acre and less than 10 acres. A quick pond-area
estimator can tell you if your pond is big enough.
Maximum depth
of at least 8 feet. Ponds fill in with sediment and debris quickly, so the
pond that was 13 feet deep when new can be quite a bit shallower after a
few years. The easiest way to see if your pond is deep enough is use a fishing
rod. Tie a heavy sinker on the end of the line, and measure eight feet up
the line. At that point, put a bobber on. Cast the line out to the middle
of the pond. If the bobber sinks, your pond is more than eight feet deep.
The pond must
be fenced to exclude livestock with a 60 foot minimum buffer between the
pond edge and fence.
If you
feel your pond meets the above criteria, you can contact your
local fisheries biologist or
conservation
officer and sign-up for fish. You can also download the
Farm Pond Stocking Application
(PDF file) which will need to be completed to start the process. A DNR employee
may contact you to arrange an on-sight inspection of your pond and to obtain additional
information.
The
file referenced below contains many images, and may take some time to load. A
reduced-image version is also
available.
An on-line version of the Iowa Farm Ponds
brochure is available. It contains more detailed information on the farm
pond program, as well as guides to building farm ponds, stocking and managing
the ponds, and even hints on catching more fish from the ponds and attracting
other wildlife to them.
| Problem |
Cause |
Remedy |
| 1. Overabundance of three-inch bluegill,
few large bluegill |
Improper bass-bluegill ratio |
Stock 50 eight to ten-inch bass/acre |
| 2. Overabundance of eight to ten-inch bass,
few large bass, no bluegill |
Improper bass-bluegill ratio, no bluegill
or other forage base |
Stock as many adult bluegill as you can catch:
stock 250 five-inch bluegill/acre |
| 3. Bluegill contain black or white grubs |
Fish contain an immature parasite that matures
in fish eating birds |
Thoroughly cook fish; grubs cause no harm
and problem can't be eliminated |
| 4. Muddy water |
Pond contains bullheads and/or carp; pond not fenced and
has row crops in watershed |
Completely renovate pond and re-stock with bass, bluegill
and channel catfish; fence pond, seed watershed to grass |
| 5. Weedy pond (prevents shore fishing) |
Large mats of aquatic vegetation; improper
bank slope |
Stocking 5-10 (ten-inch) white amur/acre will eliminate rooted vegetation,
lesser stocking will control vegetation (25% vegetation coverage is good for fish); spray
selective herbicide (follow label directions carefully) |
| 6. Catch only bullheads; few bass and bluegill |
Overabundance of bullheads with too few bass
(pond may be too shallow and susceptible to winterkill) |
Completely renovate and re-stock with bass,
bluegill and channel catfish (be sure pond depth is adequate) |
| 7. Winterkill |
Oxygen depletion due to deep snow cover on
ice for extended period of time; not enough water volume in pond in fall |
Check for remaining fish (winterkills are
seldom complete); renovate and re-stock with bass, bluegill and channel
catfish; make sure pond in nearly completely full in fall |
| 8. Turtles steal bait while fishing |
Large numbers of turtles in pond |
trap turtles |
| 9. Muskrat holes in dam |
Too many muskrats |
Trap muskrats; pour creosote and mothballs
in vertical holes in dam; remove cattails (muskrat food) |
| 10. Large numbers of crayfish holes in dam |
Overabundance of crayfish; not enough predators |
Stock fifty (eight to ten-inch) bass/acre |
| 11. Summerkill |
Depletion of oxygen in water |
Check for remaining fish (summerkills are
seldom complete); renovate and re-stock with bass, bluegill and channel
catfish; control vegetation |
