Antioch Lake, Illinois: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Antioch Lake lies in Lake County, Illinois. The water sits 755 feet up. Roughly 88 acres: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. Around 2.2 miles of margin, front to back. Antioch is the closest town at 0.6 miles. For a city, Elgin is 31 miles off. Other water nearby: Silver Lake 1.3 miles away, 1.3 miles away is Loon Lake, East Loon Lake 1.6 miles away, 1.8 miles away is Lake Marie and Bluff Lake 1.9 miles away. The boundary is near enough that local access rules are worth double-checking.

• Where to Fish on Antioch Lake

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. County-wide records name bluegill, common carp, green sunfish and pumpkinseed. The county list is broader than any single water. The near bank of Antioch Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 71°F; the cold one sits at 19°F. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Ice-out usually falls in late March, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Break-up sits around late March on average, with the water closing again about mid December. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Time your trip to Antioch Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Expect a half a mile walk in from where the car goes. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. The nearest alternative is Silver Lake, 1.3 miles out. Nothing on Antioch Lake should be assumed from this page alone.