Fishing Lake Walton in Crawford County, Illinois

• Overview

  Lake Walton sits in Crawford County, out in Illinois. The land about it is open valley. It covers about 24 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. About 1.2 miles of bank, so nothing stays unexplored for long. By surface area it heads our Crawford County listings. The town to know is Palestine, 11 miles out. The big place round here is Evansville, 82 miles distant. Local rules may differ a few miles either side of here.

• Where to Fish on Lake Walton

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Fish documented in Crawford County include bluegill, johnny darter, green sunfish, longear sunfish and largemouth bass. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. On Lake Walton the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 76°F for July and 27°F for January. Mild ends to the year keep the season long. Some winters give nothing at all, so plan for open water. April and May are the settled weeks, with October close behind. Lake Walton runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. If the gate is shut, Craig Lake at 7.5 miles is the nearest alternative. Confirm access to Lake Walton locally before you travel.