Tarrant Lake Fishing in Columbia County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  Tarrant Lake sits in Columbia County, out in Wisconsin. It stands 876 feet above sea level. At 24 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. You are 4.9 miles from Randolph. Rio follows at 9.6 miles, then Pardeeville at 9.8 miles. The boundary is near enough that local access rules are worth double-checking.

• Where to Fish on Tarrant Lake

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Reported across Columbia County: brown trout, common carp and rainbow trout. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Read Tarrant Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 71°F on average, January about 16°F. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Winter locks it down, and early April brings it back. Ice clears near early April and comes back about early December in a typical year. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Plan any trip to Tarrant Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. Parking is close: a car park sits half a mile from the bank. A pier half a mile from here gives a platform over deeper water. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Silver Springs Pond at 6.4 miles is the sensible second choice. None of that is settled for Tarrant Lake in what we hold.