Stroyan Lake Fishing in Lee County, Illinois

• Overview

  Stroyan Lake sits in Lee County, out in Illinois. It sits at 902 feet above sea level. Small at around 10 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. By elevation it is in the upper part of our Illinois listings. Some 9.9 miles away sits Earlville, the nearest settlement. For a city, Aurora is 33 miles off. The county edge is within a short distance of the bank.

• Where to Fish on Stroyan Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. A reservoir gives you a hard edge, a shelf, and not much else. Look for where the old bank line still shows under the surface. Public occurrence data for Lee County names johnny darter, white sucker, green sunfish, black bullhead and orangethroat darter. The county list is broader than any single water. Fish Stroyan Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs 19°F to 72°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Break-up comes around late March, and the run that follows is short and strong. In an average year the thaw lands around late March and the freeze near mid December. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. The season on Stroyan Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Ownership and access are not documented in what we hold. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. For the catfish, fish bottom baits into the deeper holes and let them sit. State or provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. For a change of water, Shabbona Lake is 5.2 miles distant. None of that is settled for Stroyan Lake in what we hold.