Bolton Lakes Fishing Guide, Bureau County, Illinois

• Overview

  Set in Bureau County, Bolton Lakes is an Illinois water. It lies 574 feet above sea level. Small at around 15 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. Nearest town is Princeton, 3.7 miles off. It is 43 miles to North Peoria, the nearest city. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it. Trees come down to the water on one side more than the other.

• Where to Fish on Bolton Lakes

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. Look for where the old bank line still shows under the surface. A reservoir gives you a hard edge, a shelf, and not much else. Public occurrence data for Bureau County names bluegill, green sunfish and white sucker. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. At Bolton Lakes the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 74°F on average, January about 20°F. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around late March. Break-up sits around late March on average, with the water closing again about mid December. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. On Bolton Lakes that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. If the gate is shut, Menno-Haven Lake at 3.9 miles is the nearest alternative. Check the current arrangement for Bolton Lakes.