Fishing Big Timber Lake in Peoria County, Illinois

• Overview

  Big Timber Lake belongs to Peoria County, Illinois. The bank is 587 feet above sea level. It covers about 4 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. On size it sits at the modest end of our Peoria County list. 1.7 miles away sits Bellevue, the nearest town. The nearest city of size is Peoria, 5 miles away. A county boundary sits nearby, which can matter for local access rules.

• Where to Fish on Big Timber Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. Look for where the old bank line still shows under the surface. Rip-rap along the wall holds fish that the open bank never does. Peoria County records list common carp, white perch, goldfish and bluegill among the fish reported. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. The shape of Big Timber Lake decides where the fish sit.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 75°F and January near 22°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Ice is part of the season here, ending near mid March. The open-water window runs from around mid March to about late December in an average year. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. That is the shape of the year on Big Timber Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. A parking area is marked roughly 120 yards out. There is a mapped landing stage half a mile away. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Small Timber Lake sits 0.2 miles off and takes the overflow. The position on Big Timber Lake is worth confirming on the day.