Free Tips For Fishing in Illinois
There is no shortage of places to
fish in Illinois. The Prairie State's landscape is peppered with
lakes and ponds, and etched with numerous streams and rivers. With
this many opportunities, it can be a chore trying to decide where to
fish. It may help to have a few Illinois fishing tips under your belt
before deciding where to go.
- Illinois lakes and reservoirs offer outstanding fishing all year. If you want to bring home a few bluegills for supper, try fishing for them through the ice at Rend Lake. For spring pike, you can do no better than casting a lure in Chicago's Wolf Lake, soon after the ice-out. If you are a die-hard bass angler, in early spring, your objective should be Crab Orchard, and Brusse Lakes, for some of the best early-season bass-fishing in the mid-west. The Fox chain of lakes in northeast Illinois is a walleye anglers dream come true. The best time to go is from mid-April to mid-May. To get in on the action of spawning crappie in May, try Decatur Lake. To try your luck with monster muskies, drop a line at Evergreen Lake, Shelbyville Lake, or Shabonna Lake. All three lakes have produced many trophy-sized muskellunge. For catfish aficionados, the place to go is Rend Lake.
- For some hot stripped bass action in the cold of winter, throw some jigs in Smithland Pool, on the Ohio River. If you get silly for saugers, drop some nightcrawlers in the deep holes of the Illinois River in February. For the fastest walleye action you've ever seen, try fishing below tailraces on the mighty Mississippi in late March. Fly anglers wanting to target some really nice small-mouth bass should try lobbing brown & orange Clouser Minnows at Apple Creek, in April. For the biggest bluegills in the state, drop some red wigglers in at Panther Creek, near Springfield. The Mississippi River backwaters are legendary for producing lots of large catfish and Large-mouth Bass.
- The states biggest single fishing resource is undoubtedly Lake Michigan, one of the Great Lakes. This large, deep glacial lake offers outstanding fishing for many species. The harbors offer fantastic Brown Trout fishing all year long, great spring perch fishing. Atlantic, Coho, Pink and Chinook Salmon abound in the large open waters. Weed-beds in the shallower bays have large populations of crappie, pike, musky, sunfish, and both Large and Small-mouth Black Bass. Striped and White bass cruise the waters off of points in huge schools.
Illinois may offer more different
types of fishing than any other single place in the country. By
making note of some Illinois fishing tips, you can have a much better
chance of getting your limit, the next time you go fishing in the
Prairie State.
Happy fishing.
Illinois Fishing Tips
