Butler Lake Fishing Guide, Lake County, Illinois

• Overview

  You will find Butler Lake in Lake County, Illinois. The country here is pine and birch. Start from Libertyville, 0.9 miles down the road. The nearest city of size is Elgin, 24 miles away. Neighbouring water: Minear Lake 1.1 miles away, Liberty Lake about 1.4 miles, Saint Marys Lake 1.5 miles away, Lake Charles about 2.3 miles and Loch Lomond 2.4 miles away. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Butler Lake

  It is mapped as marsh, which means soft margins, thick growth and limited open water. Held water runs deepest at the wall and shallows back to the inflow. Levels move with the draw rather than the rain on water like this. Fish documented in Lake County include bluegill, common carp and green sunfish. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. Fish Butler Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 72°F for July and 21°F for January. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from late March. Ice clears near late March and comes back about mid December in a typical year. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. The season on Butler Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. It is tagged for fishing in public mapping. A car park lies 70 yards away, so the walk in is short. Mapping shows a jetty some half a mile off. A picnic area is mapped about half a mile away. Public toilets are recorded roughly half a mile off. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. If the gate is shut, Minear Lake at 1.1 miles is the nearest alternative. Signs at Butler Lake carry more weight than any list.