The Illinois 2014 Fall Trout Fishing Season Opens October 18th
New Fall Catch-and-Release Fly Fishing Season Opens October 4th at selected sites (**)SPRINGFIELD, IL — The 2014 Illinois fall trout fishing season opens on Saturday, October 18th, at 50 ponds, lakes and streams throughout the state.
New this fall will be catch-and-release fly fishing at a handful of sites beginning October 4th. Fly fishing anglers can use their gear to catch and release trout on selected sites noted below with a
(**) . No trout can be kept during this period. Fly fishing anglers can keep trout after the opening of the regular season beginning October 18th.
"The Fall trout fishing season is an enjoyable family tradition that is expanded this year with fly-fishing at selected locations," said Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Director Marc Miller said. "Catch-and-release fishing will help extend the season and provide more opportunity for more people this fall."
The Illinois catchable trout program is funded entirely by those who use the program through the sale of inland trout stamps. Approximately 80,000 trout are stocked by IDNR at the locations listed below just prior to the opening of the fall trout season.
No trout may be taken from any of the stocked sites from October 1st until the fall trout season opens at 5:00 a.m. on October 18th. Anyone attempting to take (harvest) trout before the legal harvest season opening will be issued citations.
Reminder: All anglers – including those using fly-fishing gear who intend to release fish caught before October 18th – must have a fishing license and an inland trout stamp, unless they are under the age of 16, blind or disabled, or are an Illinois resident on leave from active duty in the Armed Forces.
Note: Not all sites open at 5:00 a.m. on opening day. Anglers are reminded to check the opening time of their favorite trout fishing location prior to the season opener.
Illinois fishing licenses and inland trout stamps are available at DNR Direct license and permit locations, including many bait shops, sporting goods stores and other retail outlets.
Check here for a location near you.Fishing licenses and trout stamps can also be purchased using a credit card online via the IDNR website at
www.dnr.illinois.gov, or by calling DNR Direct toll-free at 1-888-6PERMIT (1-888-673-7648).
For more information about all site regulations, anglers should contact individual sites that will be stocked with catchable-size trout. The daily catch limit for each angler is five trout.
The 50 locations are:
North
- Bureau County — Hennepin Canal Parkway
- Cook County — Axehead Lake, Cook County Forest Preserve District
- Cook County — Wolf Lake at William W. Powers State Recreation Area, Chicago
- Cook County — Green Lake, Cook County Forest Preserve District
- Cook County — Belleau Lake, Cook County Forest Preserve District
- DuPage County — Silver Lake, DuPage County Forest Preserve District
- Jo Daviess County — Apple River, Apple River State Park **
- Kankakee County — Bird Park Quarry, Kankakee
- Kendall County — Big Lake, Silver Springs State Park
- Lake County — Banana Lake, Lake County Forest Preserve District
- Lake County — Sand Lake, Illinois Beach State Park
- McHenry County — Spring Grove Hatchery Pond, Spring Grove
- Oregon County — Pine Creek, White Pines State Park **
- Rock Island County — Prospect Park Lake, Moline
- Warren County — Citizen's Lake, Monmouth
- Cook County — Busse Woods North Lake
- Whiteside County — Centennial Park Pond, Rock Falls
- Will County — Lake Strini at Conservation Park, Romeoville
- Will County — Van Horn Woods, Plainfield
Central
- Adams County — Siloam Springs State Park Lake **
- Cass County —Gridley Lake, Jim Edgar Panther Creek SFWA **
- Christian County — Manners Park Pond,Taylorville Park District
- Coles County — Eastern Illinois University Campus Pond, Charleston
- Douglas County — Villa Grove West Lake
- Hancock County — Horton Lake, Navoo State Park **
- Macon County — Rock Springs Pond, Macon County Conservation
- Macoupin County — Beaver Dam Lake
- McDonough County —Argyle Lake, Argyle Lake State Park
- Sangamon County — Southwind Park, Springfield
- Sangamon County — IDOT Lake, Springfield **
- Sangamon County — Washington Park Pond, Springfield
- Shelby County — Forest Park Lagoon, Shelbyville
- Tazewell County — Mineral Springs Park Lagoon, Pekin
- Vermilion County — Clear Lake, Kickapoo State Park
South
- Bond County — Patriot's Park Lake (Greenville Old City Lake)
- Crawford County — Crawford County Conservation Area Pond
- Jefferson County — Mount Vernon Game Farm Pond
- Johnson County — Feme Clyffe State Park Lake
- Madison County — Highland Old City Lake
- Marion County — Boston Pond, Stephen A. Forbes State Park
- Massac County — Fairgrounds Pond, Fort Massac State Park
- Randolph County — Derby Lake, Sparta World Shooting and Recreational Complex
- Randolph County — Randolph County State Fish and Wildlife Area Lake
- Saline County — Jones Lake Trout Pond, Saline County State Fish & Wildlife Area
- St. Clair County — Frank Holten State Park, Main Lake
- St. Clair County — Jones Park Lake, East St. Louis
- St. Clair County — Willow Lake, Peabody River King State Fish and Wildlife Area
- Wabash County — Beall Woods Lake, Beall Woods State Park
- Wayne County — Sam Dale Trout Pond, Sam Dale Lake Conservation Aattach://rea
- Williamson County — Devil's Kitchen Lake
** NOTE: Site opens on October 4th for Fly Fishing Catch-and-Release Seasonhttp://www.ifishillinois.org/programs/trout_stocking.html
