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 An
early opportunity at select trout sites – the spring
catch-and-release fishing season – will open Saturday, March 23. No
trout may be kept during the catch-and-release period, but anglers
can keep trout after the opening of the regular season beginning
April 6. The daily harvest limit for each angler is five trout.
The Illinois Catchable Trout Program receives funding support by
those who use the program through the sale of inland trout stamps.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources stocks more than 80,000
rainbow trout each year in bodies of water where trout fishing is
permitted during the spring season. An additional 80,000 trout will
be stocked for the fall trout season, which begins in October.
In Macon County, spring trout will be stocked at Rock Springs
Cattail Pond for the foreseeable future and not Sportsman’s Club
Pond. Rock Springs Cattail Pond is currently a fall trout stocking
location.
In Wayne County, spring trout will be stocked at Turkey Run Shelter
Pond at Sam Dale State Fish and Wildlife Area because the Sam Dale
trout pond is undergoing rehabilitation. Signs will be posted
directing anglers to the temporary site.
For the 2024 spring trout season, no trout may be taken from any
stocked sites between March 15 and the season opening at 5 a.m.
April 6. Anyone attempting to harvest trout before the legal harvest
season opening will be issued citations.
For information about all site regulations, anglers should contact
individual sites that will be stocked with catchable-size trout. Not
all sites are open for trout catch-and-release season and not all
sites open at 5 a.m. opening day.
The spring trout season offers opportunities for families to get
outdoors and enjoy fishing. Resources are available online for
taking youth fishing. All anglers, including those who intend to
release fish caught before April 6, must have a fishing license and
an inland trout stamp unless they are younger than 16, blind or
disabled, or are an Illinois resident on leave from active duty in
the Armed Forces.
Fishing licenses and trout stamps can be purchased by using a credit
card online. Visit ifishillinois.org for more information on trout
seasons and other Illinois fishing opportunities.
2023 Illinois Spring Trout Locations
(** Denotes sites open for
catch-and-release early spring season fishing)
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Boone County
Mill Race Ponds, Belvidere
Bureau County
Hennepin Canal Parkway
Cook County
Axehead Lake, Cook County Forest Preserve District
Belleau Lake, Cook County Forest Preserve District
Green Lake in Calumet City, Cook County Forest Preserve District
Horsetail Lake, Cook County Forest Preserve District
Sag Quarry East, Cook County Forest Preserve District
Wolf Lake, William W. Powers State Recreation Area, Chicago
DuPage County
Grove Lake, DuPage County Forest Preserve District
Pickerel Lake, DuPage County Forest Preserve District
Silver Lake, DuPage County Forest Preserve District
Jo Daviess County
Apple River, Apple River Canyon State Park **
Kankakee County
Bird Park Quarry, Kankakee
Rock Creek, Kankakee River State Park **
Kendall County
Big Lake, Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area
Lake County
Sand Lake, Illinois Beach State Park
LaSalle County
Illinois and Michigan Canal Lock 14, LaSalle
Lake Mendota, Village of Mendota
McHenry County
Lake Atwood, McHenry County Conservation District
Piscasaw Creek, McHenry County Conservation District
Ogle County
Pine Creek, White Pines Forest State Park **
Rock Island County
Prospect Park, Moline [to top of second
column]
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Stephenson County
Waddams Creek, Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Park
Yellow Creek in Krape Park, Freeport
Whiteside County
Centennial Park Pond, Rock Falls
Will County
Lake Milliken, Des Plaines State Fish and Wildlife Area
Winnebago County
Baumann Lake, Cherry Valley
Four Lakes, Winnebago County Forest Preserve District
CENTRAL ILLINOIS
Adams County
Siloam Springs State Park Lake **
Cass County
Gridley Lake, Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area
**
Champaign County
Kaufman Lake, Champaign Park District
Lake of the Woods, Champaign County Forest Preserve District
Christian County
Manners Park, Taylorville Park District
Clark County
Casey Park Pond, Casey
Coles County
Eastern Illinois University Campus Pond, Charleston
DeWitt County
Weldon Springs, Weldon Springs State Park
Hancock County
Horton Lake, Nauvoo State Park **
Macon County
Rock Springs Cattail Pond, Macon County Conservation District
McLean County
Miller Park Lake, Bloomington
Morgan County
Morgan Lake at Nichols Park, Jacksonville **
Moultrie County
Wyman Lake, Sullivan
Pike County
King Park Pond
Sangamon County
IDOT Lake, Springfield **
Southwind Park, Springfield
Washington Park Pond, Springfield
Shelby County
Forest Park Lagoon, Shelbyville
Vermilion County
Clear Lake, Kickapoo State Recreation Area
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
Jefferson County
Mount Vernon Game Farm Pond
Johnson County
Ferne Clyffe State Park Lake
Madison County
Belk Park Pond, Wood River
Marion County
Boston Pond, Stephen A. Forbes State Recreation Area
Massac County
Fairgrounds Pond, Fort Massac State Park
Randolph County
Derby Lake, World Shooting and Recreational Complex, Sparta
St. Clair County
Main Lake, Frank Holten State Park
Jones Park Lake, East St. Louis
Willow Lake, Peabody River King State Fish and Wildlife Area **
Wabash County
Beall Woods Lake, Beall Woods State Park
Wayne County
Turkey Run Shelter Pond, Sam Dale State Fish and Wildlife Area
[Illinois Office of Communication and
Information]
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