5/3/2006
Farm Ponds Popular Among Anglers

DES MOINES - Spring offers some of the best fishing opportunities of all seasons as fish move close to shore preparing to spawn and are aggressively feeding and protecting their nests. Some of the best, early spring takes place on farm ponds, which are smaller and tend to warm more quickly.

Farm ponds consistently have some of the biggest largemouth bass, and offer some excellent bluegill fishing every year. Estimates say there are more than 80,000 farm ponds in Iowa that provide hours of exciting fishing opportunities in a secluded setting.

Since farm ponds are privately owned, anglers must receive permission from the landowner - or the farming tenant - before they enter the property. A common misconception is that if the Iowa Department of Natural Resources stocked the pond, it is open to public fishing. Not true.

"We sell fish at the cost of production to landowners with new or renovated ponds that meet certain minimum criteria. There is no doubt that farm ponds are popular places to fish. We know that each year, licensed anglers take more than 1 million fishing trips to Iowa farm ponds," said Marion Conover, chief of the Iowa DNR's fisheries bureau.

Another common misconception involves who needs a fishing license when fishing a farm pond. All anglers are required to have a current fishing license to fish on farm ponds. The only exception is the landowner, tenant and their minor children.

"For whatever reason, many anglers believe they are not required to have a valid Iowa fishing license when fishing someone else's farm pond, and that is simply not the case," Conover said. "Only the landowner and tenant and the minor children may fish on the pond without a license."

All other Iowa fishing regulations apply when fishing farm ponds or other private waters.

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