North Lake, Illinois: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Set in Knox County, Illinois, this is North Lake. The surroundings are pine and birch. This is a pocket water of some 8 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. Compared with other Illinois water on our list, it sits high. 9.8 miles away sits Knoxville, the nearest town. After that come Galesburg at 13 miles and Galva at 13 miles. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on North Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Points where the flooded channel swings in are the reliable ones. Draw-down through summer strips the margins, so follow the water out. Public occurrence data for Knox County names johnny darter, largemouth bass and white sucker. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. At North Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 75°F for July and 22°F for January. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Ice is part of the season here, ending near mid March. Ice clears near mid March and comes back about mid December in a typical year. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. At North Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. A platform or pier sits within half a mile. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. The nearest alternative is South Lake, 0.4 miles out. Where North Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.