Fishing at Depue Lake, Bureau County, Illinois

• Overview

  Depue Lake is one of the Bureau County waters in Illinois. It stands 436 feet above sea level. At 531 acres this is proper open water rather than a pond. With 4.5 miles or so of shoreline, boat anglers cover ground the bank cannot. Among the waters listed for Bureau County, none is wider. The closest town, Depue, is 0.7 miles distant. For a city, North Peoria is 43 miles off. Rules can differ a short way off, since the county line is near.

• Where to Fish on Depue Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. County-wide records name bluegill, green sunfish, white sucker and orangethroat darter. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Depue Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs 21°F to 74°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Ice is part of the season here, ending near mid March. Averages place the thaw at mid March and the freeze at mid December. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. That shapes the year on Depue Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. A made slipway is half a mile from here, which settles the boat question. This sits inside Rod and Gun Club, so read the reserve notices first. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Lyons Lake, 1.2 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. None of that is settled for Depue Lake in what we hold.