Fishing at Campbell Lake, Crawford County, Illinois

• Overview

  Look for Campbell Lake in Crawford County, Illinois. Height above sea level is 558 feet. About 8 acres of surface, which puts the far bank inside easy sight. Palestine sits 8.8 miles from the bank. The big place round here is Evansville, 62 miles distant. Being near a boundary, it pays to know which side you are fishing. Trees come down to the water on one side more than the other.

• Where to Fish on Campbell Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. Rip-rap along the wall holds fish that the open bank never does. The arms fish better than the open middle whenever the water is up. Species logged across Crawford County include bluegill, johnny darter, green sunfish and longear sunfish. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Fish Campbell Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 77°F; the cold one sits at 28°F. The year gives four workable seasons without severe ends. It should never be assumed safe, whatever the month says. The cooler months are the comfortable ones to fish here. Expect Campbell Lake to follow that timing. Falling water concentrates fish into the deeper parts.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. Mapping shows an empty shoreline: no ramp, no jetty, no marked entry. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. For a change of water, Broadie Lake is 7 miles distant. None of that is settled for Campbell Lake in what we hold.