Ingram Lake Fishing Guide, Mason County, Illinois

• Overview

  Ingram Lake falls in Mason County, part of Illinois. It sits in mixed forest. Around 119 acres of surface means several distinct areas to work. There is roughly 2.3 miles of shoreline here, which is a short walk end to end. Ground here is low by Illinois standards. Some 8.2 miles away sits Astoria, the nearest settlement. The big place round here is Springfield, 40 miles distant. You are close to a county edge here; who manages the access can change within a short drive.

• Where to Fish on Ingram Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Species logged across Mason County include common carp, goldfish, white perch, channel catfish and bluegill. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Ingram Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 25°F in January and 76°F in July. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around early March. Average temperatures cross freezing around early March in spring and again near late December in autumn. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. Plan around that when you fish Ingram Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Ownership and access are not documented in what we hold. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. 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. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Should this one be busy, Cross Slough is 0.7 miles off. None of that is settled for Ingram Lake in what we hold.