Inland Sea in Vermilion County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Inland Sea is set in Vermilion County, Illinois. Everything around it is mixed forest. At 17 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. The nearest town is Oakwood, 3 miles away. Indianapolis sits 88 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. There is no boundary nearby to worry about. Our records list it as fresh water.

• Where to Fish on Inland Sea

  Depth figures are not published for this one. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Across Vermilion County, recorded fish include greenside darter, rainbow darter, longear sunfish and smallmouth bass. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. Inland Sea gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 75°F in July and bottoms out near 24°F in January. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about mid March. The lid tends to go about mid March and return around late December. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. Inland Sea runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. A boat ramp sits about half a mile from the water. There is recorded parking some half a mile off. There is a campsite half a mile from the water. There are toilets mapped about half a mile away. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Should this one be busy, Clear Pond is 0.4 miles off. Confirm access to Inland Sea locally before you travel.