Best Fishing Spots in Illinois

Illinois is the flattest fishing state mapped, with elevations running from 88 metres to 275 metres and a median of 186 metres. That leaves latitude to do all the work, and the state is long enough north to south for it to matter: the northern counties around Chicago freeze more reliably than the southern tip, which sits in the warm-temperate band and behaves more like Kentucky than like the Great Lakes. Most mapped water is impounded rather than natural, built across farmland for supply and flood control. Chicago's corner of the state adds Lake Michigan, which fishes on an entirely different scale from an inland reservoir, with its own species and its own weather risks. Our listings for Illinois run to 958 waters in 99 counties. The list leans towards reservoirs, with natural lakes filling much of the rest. The biggest entry is Carlyle Lake, covering some 36 sq miles. The climate spread across these waters is 23°F to 75°F. Expect the ice to go around mid March in a normal year. Public records return bluegill, green sunfish, common carp and largemouth bass more than anything else here....