Illinois Walleye Fishing
Illinois is definitely not known for its excellent walleye fishing. Most anglers living in Illinois will plan their fishing trip to Wisconsin, Minnesota, Canada, or Lake Erie when they want to fill their coolers with walleye. There are some places where you can catch walleye and wieners constantly and if you are within driving distance of these waters you can catch some good fish for dinner.
When most people think of walleye, they usually think of fishing lakes and rivers farther north, but in Illinois, it seems that some of the best walleye waters are in the south. Some of the lakes in the southern part of the state that have a lot of walleye are Lake Carlton, Lake Clinton, Lake Kinkaid, and Lake Evergreen. Head to the western area of Illinois and you’ll find the Pittsfield City Lake, which is probably the best walleye lake in the state for big fish.
Once you head north there are a few lakes to focus on to go along with some rivers. Shabbona Lake is located a couple of hours west of Chicago and is known primarily for its state record musks. People would talk more about walleye fishing if you were allowed to fish after dark on this lake. There are many walleye in the lake with many trophy sized fish, but the extremely heavy fishing pressure here makes it difficult to land more than a couple of fish per outing and some anglers who fish here never catch a walleye. It is a difficult lake to fish, but there are many walleye in Lake Shabbona. Your best bet is to fish mid-week in low light conditions.
Fox Chain of Lakes is a popular boating and fishing destination. Walleye fishing can be very good here in the spring and fall. Summers can be rough because recreational boaters are all over the lake and seem to get up earlier and earlier each summer. It is not uncommon to see someone on a jet ski at 8am during the summer. There are many lakes to fish in this chain and many of them produce healthy populations of keeper-sized walleye.
Another lake in the north worth mentioning is Lake Pierce, which is in the Rockford area. This lake is regularly stocked, making it a good lake to catch walleye.
As far as rivers go, experienced anglers can consistently catch walleye in the Fox River and Kankakee River, but they don’t even compare to fishing for walleye and sausage in the Illinois River. Fishing tournaments start in early spring and many tournament boats reach their limits on the Illinois River. There are plenty of fish in the 3-5 pound range in the Illinois River and if you want to get in on the action, head to Starved Rock State Park.
For more information on the lakes listed above along with some of the other places to fish in Illinois, take a look at our Illinois fishing page.