Fishing at Pinckneyville Reservoir, Perry County, Illinois

• Overview

  Pinckneyville Reservoir is a Perry County water, Illinois side. It sits at 446 feet above sea level. At about 187 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. Around 3.4 miles of bank, which is a long day on foot. Size puts it in the front rank of our Perry County list. 2.1 miles away sits Pinckneyville, the nearest town. The nearest city of size is St. Louis, 56 miles away. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Pinckneyville Reservoir

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. Draw-down through summer strips the margins, so follow the water out. A reservoir gives you a hard edge, a shelf, and not much else. Across Perry County, recorded fish include bluegill, johnny darter, slough darter, largemouth bass and longear sunfish. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. Pinckneyville Reservoir fishes better once you know its edges.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 78°F and January about 30°F. In milder years the surface never sets. Cover comes and goes, so treat it with suspicion rather than trust. April and May are the settled weeks, with October close behind. Anyone fishing Pinckneyville Reservoir regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. Boats go in at Pinckneyville Reservoir, roughly half a mile from the water. The nearest car park we can see is half a mile out, so expect a walk with your gear. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Clear Lake, 4.8 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Check the current arrangement for Pinckneyville Reservoir.