Fishing Four-H Lake in Piatt County, Illinois

• Overview

  Four-H Lake lies in Piatt County, in Illinois. The surface lies 682 feet up. Small at around 11 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. The closest town, Monticello, is 4.7 miles distant. Springfield is the closest city, 54 miles away. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water. The setting is plain rather than dramatic, and it fishes well for it.

• Where to Fish on Four-H Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. A reservoir gives you a hard edge, a shelf, and not much else. Points where the flooded channel swings in are the reliable ones. Fish documented in Piatt County include bluegill, green sunfish, orangethroat darter and shorthead redhorse. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. Four-H Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 75°F at the top of summer and 24°F at the bottom of winter. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. Ice-out usually falls in mid March, and the weeks after it fish hardest. The open-water window runs from around mid March to about late December in an average year. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. It sets the rhythm of the year at Four-H Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access status is simply unknown for this water. There is a car park half a mile from the bank. Facilities run to toilets half a mile from the water. Robert Allerton Park covers ground next to the water; its rules will apply on that side. For the panfish, a small hook, a float and a piece of worm outfish everything fancy. State or provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. The nearest alternative is Arrowhead Lake, 0.9 miles out. Confirm before you fish Four-H Lake.