Valley Lake Fishing Guide, Lake County, Illinois

• Overview

  Valley Lake is a Lake County water, Illinois side. The bank gives way to pine and birch. It covers about 12 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. On size it sits at the modest end of our Lake County list. Gages Lake at 0.2 miles is the nearest place to stop. Then Third Lake, 2.2 miles, and Grayslake, 3 miles. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Valley Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Reported across Lake County: bluegill, common carp, green sunfish, pumpkinseed and largemouth bass. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. The shape of Valley Lake decides where the fish sit.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 71°F, with January the cold end at about 20°F. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. The lid usually goes in late March, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. On the long-run averages the water opens up around late March and starts locking again about mid December. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. Valley Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. A boat ramp sits half a mile away, so trailered boats can get on. Parking sits half a mile out, which makes for a walk with tackle. There is a pier recorded roughly half a mile away. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. The nearest alternative is Twin Lakes, 0.4 miles out. Ask locally about Valley Lake if anything is unclear.