Southwest Iowa; places to try this winter

[bert29]

Well, now that we are getting that deep freeze we've been waiting for, here are some locations in SW Iowa that might be worth a trip out on the ice to try this winter: Here are some that I'm looking forward to fishing through the ice this season (with a brief description of location and possible fishing quality report) Feel free to add to this list for those of you who fish in SW Iowa!

Mile Hill Lake, Mills County (2 miles west of Glenwood) small lake of about 14 acres...has some decent bluegills and nice crappies, along with solid population of largemouth bass and catfish.very clear lake (max depth of about 30ft) and good structure. easy access,but does have several springs (which can cause weak spots.

Pony Creek Lake, Mills County (5 miles NW of Glenwood)..larger lake of about 80 acres...long, narrow lake, with quite a bit of depth in the 20ft range..best fishing is in the middle to upper (north end) end of lake. decent access on east side of lake (most of west side of lake is private property)..okay gills (most in 6-7" range, with a few in 8-9", good crappies, with some nice fish in 12" range..nice largemouth bass population, along with many yellow bass. water quality is decent with visibility 2-3ft. not as much structure so movement is the key to stay on fish

Fulsom Lake (7 miles NW of Glenwood off of I-29 near rest stop. borrow pit of about 45 acres..decent access near rest stop..this lake was real good about 3 years ago, but has since tapered off due to dying off of weed and disappearance of wood structure. Okay bluegill population with some large fish in 9" range, along with some really nice crappies in 12-13" range, but hard to locate due to the limited structure. a lot of rough fish (gar, shad, carp--and now even the dreaded silver carp (those crazy jumping carp) that came out of the Missouri during flood a couple of years ago). With right spot and early or late in year, fishing here can be surprisingly good, but also erratic. Big Bass and huge catfish roam this lake!

Lake Manawa..Council Bluffs..large state-run lake that has nice population of crappies, wipers, catfish, with some walleyes, bluegills and a lot of yellow bass. Shallow with some structure, but again, unless you know where to fish on this lake, it's tough. I've seen (and also caught) some real nice crappies, wipers and walleyes through the ice, but you'll have to work at it. If you like a challenge, good lake to try.

Viking Lake, Montgomery County...about 4 miles east of Stanton and about 130 acre lake. Recently renovated, and this lake of all these, is the "hot-spot" to try this winter. A deep lake with max depth in 45ft range, with a lot of new DNR structure and excellent populations of bluegills, nice crappies in 8-11" range, and superb population of catfish, along with a nice population of walleyes. Takes a little longer to freeze, but once it has good ice, this lake might be the place to be.

I-29 borrow pits in Mills, and Fremont counties. several "borrow" pits exist along I-29 that can hold some great bluegill, crappie, and bass fishing--with several other species (like walleyes, saugers, northerns, white bass, yellow bass, blue catfish) that were trapped in these pits after the flood back in 2011 of Missouri river. Many of these pits might be a waste of time, but you also might find that one that is underfished and loaded with crappies--some up to 16"!!
This is just a short list of some possible areas I'm looking forward to fishing this winter--along with the countless farm ponds in Mills and Fremont Counties!
if you are interested in trying some of these areas, give me a shout (PMessage). I'm loving this single-digit overnight lows for the next several days! Hard ice, baby!

[LarryClutch]

Great Post.  I have tried Mile hill, Pony Creek , and Manawa and you spot on on all 3 of them.  I have wanted to try the Pit just to the south of race track but it is a long walk from the gravel road and I do not want to do an interstate stop and drop.

[bert29]

You talking about those "PJ" pits Larry?
I've never fished them. I've only been in Glenwood area now for 10 years (teach and coach) but I know guys I fish with that used to fish them long time ago....I can't give you any info on those.
Another area I thought about that is somewhat off radar is over by Hwy 34/71..Hacklebarney (county run area)  two small lakes/ponds that in the past have had some huge gills and crappies. Not sure what low water did the past 2 seasons, but did know that the DNR guys out of cold springs area said there were some huge (read 2lb crappies!) that came out of there 2 winters ago. I've never fished them either but I'd be curious to know if anyone has fished it either thru ice or open water of late.
I'm hoping to get out this sunday either to Mile Hill or Pony if we don't get too much snow from this projected storm.

[LarryClutch]

I have friends that live that way I will see what they have to say and let you know.  Good luck this weekend!

[bert29]

You too, Larry if you get out..shoot me a PMessage some time with name and number...maybe we can fish together sometime in Glenwood area.

[ClamGuy]

Bert, since you live down that way, do mile hill or pony creek have I've yet?

[bert29]

you mean ice? Yes, some ice..not sure how much, but judging some area ponds near hwy 34 I drive by into town in the morning toward school-yes, good and frozen over. I haven't been out to Pony Creek so I can't report on that. Mile Hill was frozen over and kept its ice before this deep freeze..0 degrees here in Glenwood right now with low expected down to -3 with light wind..excellent ice making weather!
fulsom had ice on it as did some ponds along hwy 34 as I drove to Creston today for basketball game

[chris71383]

pony has 2-4.5" depending on the area of the lake.

[bulzeye121]

Manawa varied from 4"-6" in three different spots I checked today at 3pm. Saw plenty of holes drilled and iced over already.

[chris71383]

yeah, manawa is had a couple open spots yesterday, but they completly locked up overnight. Found a minimum of 4" also, unfortunatly the fish haven't been cooperative.

[BRIFISH]

Fished Arrowhead Lake in Neola this summer and caught a lot of good 8-10" gills and a couple good crappie.  I talked to the park officer yesterday and he said the ice should be good to go by next weekend.

[chris71383]

Ice should be good to go at arrowhead, fished it last week already. To be fair, I haven't been out the since last sun, but there was 4"+ then and the lake is really sheltered so the warm weather would have had minimal impact. Also arrowhead is FULL of big yellowbass, last year we caught over 40 the one day with the smallest being 9".

[vics]

Was on Pony Creek yesterday. North end has 5" or better. Hot bite till noon. Lots of small gills,crappie and yellow bass. Occasional keeper fish.

[bert29]

was on pony creek today...5+ inches of hard clear ice...north end as well. caught a few nice crappies and other guy I was with (he had been there earlier than me about hour or so) had a nice mess of decent 9-10 inch crappies. I caught one 12" crappie (few smaller ones) 2-3 decent bluegill, 2 bass (1 12") and lost a nice one at hole.

[ClamGuy]

Planning on heading to pony creek in the morning. Got the poles ready! Will report back.

[jumbo chaser]

PM me and I will tell ya 

[gohawks]

Hey guys.  I'm originally from Glenwood and now live in Omaha.  Bert's summary of the area lakes were spot on.  I thought those PJ lakes were private.  Well, atleast the pond on the south end of the railroad tracks.  I've actually put one of those two man bass raider boats on the race track pond for open water and we caught large crappies and bass.  I would assume the bluegill population would be strong because there is quite a bit of vegetation around the edges.  When the track flooded a couple years ago there were fish up in the lookout towers on the track.  I would assume there might be some river rough fish in there now.  Another place that I've had pretty good luck on the ice was Pinky's Glenn lake just on the west side of Tabor.  I caught quite a few very large bluegills out there last year.  Quite a bit of flooded timber that is near the ramp area as well as two coves further toward the east and south that have flooded timber as well.  I would assume there is a good population of crappies in there as well due to the cover and the depths in that lake go into the 30ft area.  I would never use that lake for open water because the boat ramp sucks but it's pretty good for ice fishing. 

[gohawks]

I forgot to add that I'm almost always down in the Glenwood area if anyone wants to go out with me on the ice.  There are a few other places that I have permission to use as well.  I'm usually on the ice in Omaha during the week and back in the Glenwood area on the weekends.  I'm tempted to buy an Aqua Vu this week but kind of skeptical how well it'll work because the water clarity in SW Iowa isn't always the clearest stuff!  We'll see how it goes.

[ClamGuy]

Did pretty good at pony creek today. Lots of 8-9" gills. Lost a big 'ol crappie at the hole.  Also lost a giant (at least 24", close to 8 lb.) bass at the hole. VERY frustrating! I have video of the bass coming up to the hole, but won't post it here due to foul language. If you really want to see it, it's on my Facebook. All in all, great first day on the ice! Thickness was a consistent, solid 6+" on the north end. I will be back on Sunday.

[bert29]

go hawks..Myself and Chris 71383 planning on fishing in Glenwood area late afternoon this Friday. send me PM with cell and I can contact you via call or text and let you know time and place. Try for a short time anyway (I have to wait until I'm done teaching...3:30Pm) and then fish til about dark or little after if fish are cooperating.

[sticksnskullsia]

Have any of you guys fished Desoto Bend?

[minimalist]

Yes- It was very good before the flood, very bad after.  If you drill a big enough hole and bang on the ice, maybe you can get a silver carp to jump out!  It won't be open till after the 1st of the year.

[vics]

How was Pony Creek bert?

[vics]

Gohawk, sent you a pm.

[bert29]

got it...Know his mom/dad well (and his brother..and other roommate too!)
did okay on Sunday. a few crappies and small gills. Pony creek is hit and miss (like anywhere else actually) If you fish west side near the brush and channel (near the shelter area) you'll catch some fish now. Ice should be good in that area (5-7" thick)
have you fished any ponds south of Glenwood lately? like the big one near Tabor owned by bruce? not sure how that one freezes anymore. I haven't fished it for few years now through ice

[vics]

Was there last night and did very well. Could barely keep a bait in the water.

[duckaholic76]

Has anyone hit manawa lately I'm thinkin I may go out after work Saturday and give it a try

[bulzeye121]

Was there last night and did very well. Could barely keep a bait in the water.

Vics- Were u at blackburns wed? How thick wasthe ice to get across lake?

[vics]

4" was what I was on. The areas the geese were on is probably less. Be careful on the north side mid lake.

[FishinFFP]

Mile Hills ice is sketchy. Barely 2 inches across the lake with many springs causing problems. We drilled several spots and deemed it not safe for our liking at this time yet. Hopefully the hard freeze will continue and make it happen.