so i after i filled my tag this morring i went into town to see if i could get a doe tag, but they where filled:( i was pretty bumbed out. but i drove on some gravle roads that some farm ponds we fish in the summer. then i looked and the pond was all ice! so i get home fast and grab the auger. go out and drill and its already 2-2.5in thick already! i sure know where ill be next weekend. 
-Aaron
any one have tips on pond fishing? i havent fished a farm pond for like 10 years
I’m sure my man Justin P. would recommend the good ol’ sweedish pimple..depends on how deep the pond is too. For those bass, I’d set 2 tip ups and use a jiggin spoon to try and call some up. (this is according to WI state law of 3 lines in use per person on ice) use your electronics to find fish just like anywhere else!
Also if these ponds have trout bring it on! Trout are an absolute blast on a jigging spoon thru the ice!
good luck
Iowa fishing regulations allow two lines per angler on the ice, so I wouldn’t recommend running two tip-ups in addition to a hand-held set-up.
A rule of thumb (i.e. it works most of the time, but not all of the time) on a typical Iowa farm pond is that the deepest water is found near the dam. A farm pond is made by bulldozing a hole out, and using the dirt moved by the bulldozer to make a dam. The spot where the dirt was moved to make the dam is usually the deepest spot in the pond, and is the preferred habitat for fish in the winter.
I read one article that said when fishing a particular farm pond for the first time, stand on the earth dam, take fifty paces straight out on the ice from the top of the dam, and start looking for fish from there. I have found that to be a good way to start, but you need to look around a little bit to find the exact spot of deepest water. On a one-acre farm pond, that usually doesn’t take long, though.
A lot of times the gills and bass will be deep, but I’ve found them many many times in the shallow end of the pond (inlet end) in submerged timber. You just have to move and keep on moving until you find them. Any submerged structure you know of in moderately deep water (since you’ve fished there in the summer) would be a good starting point..
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any one have tips on pond fishing? i havent fished a farm pond for like 10 years
Aaron, I’m going to try these on a couple of local ponds here, mainly for crappie.
you are better off using electronics to get a picture of how the bottom is. Sometimes you are better off during the day to hop around in the deep basin and target suspended fish. Most of the time fish will relate to structure, so investigate shallow timber. One good spot to try a tip up is between two shallow points or between two downed trees. Bass will usually move between these. Don’t set up a tip up right next to timber, your asking for a sure snag. Try a tip up in 4 feet of water, then out in 6 or 8, see which one gets the action. I have had the experience on several occasions not being able to fit the bass through a 8″ hole. Sure is fun.
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