Dawes Arboretum Pond in Licking County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Look for Dawes Arboretum Pond in Licking County, Ohio. Around the bank it is open valley. This is a pocket water of some 7 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. Harbor Hills lies 2.5 miles from the water. Columbus sits 31 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. Local rules may differ a few miles either side of here.

• Where to Fish on Dawes Arboretum Pond

  Our records hold no depth for this water. Levels move with the draw rather than the rain on water like this. Rip-rap along the wall holds fish that the open bank never does. Reported across Licking County: rainbow darter, johnny darter, fantail darter and white sucker. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Dawes Arboretum Pond gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 72°F and January about 26°F. A long season, with weather mattering more than the month. In a normal year the cover is thin and short-lived. Late winter often fishes better here than midsummer does. Time your trip to Dawes Arboretum Pond by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. There is somewhere to leave the car, 140 yards off. For the panfish, a small hook, a float and a piece of worm outfish everything fancy. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Failing this one, try Binns Lake, 2.2 miles away. Rules at Dawes Arboretum Pond are worth checking on the day.