Fish Lake Fishing near Volo, Illinois

• Overview

  Illinois holds Fish in Lake County. It stands 755 feet above sea level. Surface area is around 96 acres, which gives you real water without needing a boat. Around 1.9 miles of margin, front to back. Volo lies 0.9 miles from the water. It is 22 miles to Elgin, the nearest city. Local rules may differ a few miles either side of here.

• Where to Fish on Fish Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Reported across Lake County: bluegill, common carp, green sunfish and pumpkinseed. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Fish Fish Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July near 72°F and January near 20°F on the long-run figures. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. Once it clears, about late March, the fishing comes on quickly. On the long-run averages the water opens up around late March and starts locking again about mid December. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. That shapes the year on Fish Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. You can camp about half a mile away, going by the mapping. Toilets show in mapping about half a mile away. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Sullivan Lake sits 1.8 miles off and takes the overflow. Treat Fish Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.