Columbia Farm Pond Fishing in Pike County, Illinois

• Overview

  Pike County in Illinois is where Columbia Farm Pond sits. Around the bank it is farm and woodlot. Surface area runs to about 15 acres — small enough to read in one session. Nearest town is Pittsfield, 7.3 miles off. For a city, Springfield is 60 miles off. A border sits close enough to be relevant to the paperwork. Fresh water, on the record we hold.

• Where to Fish on Columbia Farm Pond

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. Held water runs deepest at the wall and shallows back to the inflow. A reservoir gives you a hard edge, a shelf, and not much else. Survey and observation records for Pike County include green sunfish, orangethroat darter, fantail darter and bluegill. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Columbia Farm Pond responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 76°F at the top of summer and 26°F at the bottom of winter. Neither winter nor summer shuts things down for long. It should never be assumed safe, whatever the month says. Spring and autumn carry the year; summer squeezes it into the ends of the day. Plan any trip to Columbia Farm Pond around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. Nothing built is recorded close to the bank here. For the catfish, fish bottom baits into the deeper holes and let them sit. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. For a change of water, Lake Pittsfield is 7.6 miles distant. For Columbia Farm Pond in particular, ask before you travel.