Illinois is No. 12 in top fishing-friendly states

[October 26, 2022]  By Zeta Cross | The Center Square contributor

(The Center Square) – When it comes to the best states for fishing, Lawn Love, the lawn services company, named Illinois No. 12, right behind No. 11 Georgia. Florida took the crown in the topspot. Alaska is second and Montana is third.

Travis Miller, owner of Big Red’s Bait and Tackle in Springfield, Illinois, told The Center Square that getting to a good fishing spot anywhere in Illinois is easy. Illinois has one and half million acres of water from ponds and lakes and rivers to the deep waters of Lake Michigan.

“Everybody fishes,” Miller said. “From the guys getting ready to go to jail, to the judges that put ‘em there. Everybody fishes.”

Access and affordability were two of the survey categories where Illinois stands out, Lawn Love found. Illinois ranked number three for fishing affordability – no surprise to Miller.

“You can fish at any level,” Miller said. “Get a stick and a string and dig some worms ... or spend lots of money to go bass fishing in a $60,000 boat.”

Miller prefers river fishing, where he catches catfish. The Lawn Love survey said the number of catfish clubs in the state helped Illinois’ ranking. Channel catfish are caught all over the state. White bass are abundant. In 2021, the Mississippi River had 84 fishing tournaments where people caught blue catfish, yellow perch, largemouth bass and many other species.

Walleye, northern pike and sauger are plentiful in the north. Illinois lakes and sloughs provide crappie, plump bluegills, largemouth bass and bullhead. Miller gives the Illinois Department of Natural Resources credit for promoting fishing for kids in the state. Miller has two grown daughters that he taught to fish as soon as they were old enough to hold light poles.

“Probably my most proud moments were when they learned to bait the hooks and take the fish off themselves,” Miller said. “When people take kids outside and teach them about nature, that’s a good thing.”

A lot of people who learned to fish as kids rediscovered fishing again during the pandemic, he said.

“They wanted to get away from everybody and fishing is perfect for that,” Miller said.

A lot of people who grew up fishing in Illinois would rank Illinois number one, He said. Miller’s aunt was an avid fisherman who moved to Colorado after she got married.

“Colorado has all these beautiful lakes and rivers. Crystal clear waters and trophy fish. But my aunt missed catching catfish on our little lakes here in Illinois with her husband,” Miller said. “It goes to show you, you can be anywhere but it’s what you are used to and brought up fishing with. And who you are fishing with is really what is important.”

Miller has just opened a new wholesale business - Uncharted Waters Bait Company - to sell cut-up Asian carp, rebranded this summer as copi, as raw bait for catfish. On Oct. 12, Miller went river fishing with Springfield’s Clint Carter on a commercial fishing boat. They caught 5,000 pounds of invasive copi. The next day, the same boat caught 6,000 pounds of copi, Miller said. He pronounces the boney copi “pretty tasty” eating. And they make great bait – particularly since traditional shad has become harder to get.

“The catfish like it,” Miller said.