Lyon Lakes Fishing Guide, Lee County, Illinois

• Overview

  Lyon Lakes is a Lee County water, Illinois side. The land about it is lake country bush. It covers about 2 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Lee County. Supplies mean a trip to Amboy, 3.7 miles off. Mendota is 12 miles and Dixon 15 miles. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Lyon Lakes

  Depth figures are not published for this one. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Fish documented in Lee County include johnny darter, white sucker, green sunfish, black bullhead and orangethroat darter. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. On Lyon Lakes the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 73°F in July and bottoms out near 19°F in January. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Break-up comes around late March, and the run that follows is short and strong. Averages suggest open water from about late March through to roughly mid December. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Lyon Lakes fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. This lies within protected land, so the rules will be stricter than usual. For the catfish, fish bottom baits into the deeper holes and let them sit. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Black Oak Lake, 2.1 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Where Lyon Lakes is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.