ILLINOIS RIVER:
FISHING SECRETS AND OPPORTUNITIES
The
Illinois River is formed at the junction of the Kankakee and
Des Plaines rivers and runs 273 miles west southwest and south
to enter the Mississippi 14 miles up stream of Alton. The river
and adjoining backwaters provide an aquatic resource of some
87,000 surface acres. Besides the dam on the Mississippi at
Alton in which pool the lower 80 miles of Illinois River is
included, there are the LaGrange and Peoria dams on the lower
228 miles of sluggish river and the Starved Rock, Marseilles
and Dresden Island dams on the upper 45 miles of faster flowing
river. Diverse aquatic habitats are the basis for the diversity
of sport fish present, as each species favors certain habitats
over others.
The current in the Illinois River varies with the water levels and with the width
of the stream, but generally falls within the range of 0.5 to 4.0 miles per hour.
The river has a minimum depth of 9.0 feet in the marked channel and varies from
100 yards to 11/2 miles in width.
The depth of the river is regulated for navigation purposes by a series of locks
and dams. Each section of the river between dams is called a navigation pool.
The pools are given the name of the dam which controls the water level of the
pool, that is, the dam which is immediately downstream from the pool.
The Marseilles and Starved Rock pools have a bedrock bottom,
but in the pools below Starved Rock Lock and Dam the bottom
is mud, sand or gravel. The Starved Rock pool is characterized
by ledges of St. Peter's sandstone, but the rest of the
river has low, muddy banks. Cottonwood, Silver Maple, and
willow are the dominant tree species. The oaks and hard
maples that grow on the river bluffs add beautiful color
in the autumn.
Tailwater habitat, found below each navigation dam, is fast
turbulent water caused by the passage of water through the
dam. Tailwaters receive heavy fishing pressure because fish
congregate in these rough waters. White bass are particularly
fond of tailwaters, and channel catfish and drum are often
caught there.
Lake and slough habitats have little or no current and may
have aquatic vegetation. Lakes have greater average depths
than sloughs. These areas are good for bullheads and sunfish
species.
Side channels are departures from the main channel and may
be as wide and deep as the main channel or so shallow that
they resemble sloughs. All side channels have current in
them during normal water stages Channel and flathead catfish
like side channels.
Main channel border habitat is the area between the edge
of the navigation channel and the closest land or shallow
water over submerged land, This is the most predominant habitat
along the Illinois and is so varied that most sport species
can be found in some type of main channel border area.
Largemouth bass, crappie, and bluegill or green sunfish are
so common in the Illinois that they are taken from all habitats.
Two crappie species occur -- the white crappie and the black
crappie -- but, there is no apparent difference in their
bait preference or methods used to catch them. Fish near
stumps, brush piles or other such shelter. Small minnows
are the most common bait and these should be hooked high
in the back on a small hook with a bobber 2 to 3 feet above
the hook.
Nightcrawlers can also be used effectively in early spring.
When crappie start schooling before spawning (April and May)
leadhead jigs and spinners become productive and may be used
in combination with a lip-hooked minnow, Usually the best
months are March, April and May; then fishing picks up again
in the fall.
Sunfish occurring on the Illinois include bluegill, green
sunfish, warmouth and occasionally pumpkinseed or rock bass.
Fish near cover such as brush piles, stumps, or weed beds
and drop your bait as close as possible to the cover. Use
as mall bobber to keep the bait off the bottom. The most
popular bait is the night crawler on a small hook, but crickets
and grasshoppers work well during summer. For ice fishing
wax worms or corn borers are quite effective.
The white and yellow basses are the true basses native to
Illinois. Fishermen often call these fish "stripers",
and this can cause confusion with a larger salt water cousin
(striped bass) which has adapted to fresh water and has actually
been taken from the Ohio River along Illinois. The white
bass is generally more abundant than the yellow bass on the
Illinois River except for localized areas in the Starved
Rock pool. White bass grow larger than yellow, making them
more desirable sport fish, These fish like current and turbulence
as is shown by their abundance in tailwaters. They are taken
on jigs cast into the rough water below dams or obstructions
in the main channel border.
Sometimes bass can be found in the quieter water along a
sand bar or bank in the main channel border. Spinners with
minnows or artificial lures resembling minnows are effective
when a school of white bass are spotted by the furious surface
activity of minnows trying to elude them. Best fishing seems
to be in the morning or evening, but bass may be taken from
deeper water during the day by retrieving the artificial
lure or minnow a short way off the bottom. May and August
have been the best months for bass.
Largemouth bass are taken most frequently in the main channel
border and lake habitats, They like the cover of weed beds,
brush, stumps, willows and fallen trees where they can hide
from their prey. Since, largemouth are sight feeders they
are attracted by action and not by smell of the bait or lure.
They succumb to the temptations of a variety of lures, plugs,
and jigs which must each be retrieved in the manner best
suited to the lure. Common lures are Mepps spinners and plastic
worms. Minnows hooked below spinners provide more attraction
than the lifeless form of a minnow alone, The best fishing
is in May, June and September; and once the weather warms
to 75 degrees or better, early morning or evenings are best.
Smallmouth bass populations are found in local areas above
Peoria. Fish weighing better than 2 1/2lbs have been collected
by biologists sampling with electrofishing gear. Although
the smallmouth does not attain the size of largemouth bass
it is more of a scrapper and pound-for-pound provides more
heart-pounding action than any other stream species in Illinois.
Artificial lures such as plastic worms, jigs, spinners, and
spoons are most effective, but live frogs and crayfish are
also successful. Fish in early morning or late evening.
Walleye and sauger fishing on on the Illinois has improved
considerably the past few years. In the spring the tailwaters
of Starved Rock Dam may be crowded with boats of fishermen
after their favorite sport and table fish. Many of the fish
taken are sauger, which may range in weight up to 5 pounds
(the state record sauger was 5 lbs. 12 1/2 oz. taken from
the Mississippi). The walleye are generally larger, and reports
of 7-8 pounders come in each year. A common lure is a jig-minnow
combination with the minnow hooked through the head and a
weight attached via a three way swivel to fish the jig a
foot or so off the bottom. Lead head jigs or minnows by themselves
are also popular. The tailwaters can be fished through winter
for walleye or sauger because the rough water keeps them
free of ice cover. Reportedly the largest walleye are caught
during winter and it takes the hardiest anglers to fish for
them.
Drum (sheepshead, white perch, silver perch) seem to prefer
areas with good current such as tailwaters and the main channel
border. Worms, shrimp, or minnows are fished on the bottom
over bars, mud flats, or off a gradual bank in areas with
moderate to strong current. Although partial to current many
drum are taken fishing on the bottom of larger lakes. They
can also be caught on trotlines using natural bait. Spring
and fall are the best seasons for drum.
Catfish are the meat fish for many people who appreciate
the occasional 10-15 pound channel or 20-30 pound flathead
they catch along with the common 2-10 pounders. "Cats" like
to hole up underneath old stumps, downstream of fallen trees,
around log jams, and in washout holes along banks. Since
these fish rely primarily on their olfactory sense to detect
food, prepared baits with a strong odor are most effective.
These include blood baits, cheese baits, and various homemade
concoctions of an odor so rank that the fisherman can hardly
handle them. Worms, liver, shrimp and an almost end less
variety of goodies are successful at one time or another
for catfish. The more solid prepared baits can be balled
around a treble hook and fished on the bottom with a tight
line weighted by a sliding sinker, Pieces of sponge rubber
are dipped in baits having a thinner consistency and placed
on or before a hook, Around trees and log jams a bobber may
be necessary to prevent loss of gear. Many catfish are taken
on trotlines baited with crayfish or fish, If you're seeking
flatheads use large hooks and big bait such as 6" carp
on your trotline, Fishing picks up for catfish when it is
slacking off for many species during the hot months of summer
(July through September), Since sight (hence light) is not
necessary for feeding catfish, some of the best fishing may
be throughout the night.
Black, yellow and occasionally brown bullheads are found
in the sloughs. Nightcrawlers are the most common bait, fished
beneath a bobber or on the bottom without a bobber. Shrimp,
grasshoppers, grubs, liver and prepared baits are among things
considered desirable by bullheads, As with their larger cousins
bullheads will feed all night, tempting many fishermen to
stay out until the wee hours of morning during the warm summer
months.
This discussion would not be complete without mentioning
carp. Carp are not considered in the maps section, because
they are so common that they can be caught almost anywhere.
Their size and fighting strength are increasing the carps
popularity every year. Next to the flathead catfish, carp
are the largest fish regularly taken by anglers on the Illinois.
Properly prepared, carp are a match for any fish in palatability.
So it is no wonder that more and more fishermen are actively
seeking carp with worms, corn and doughballs among other
baits. Doughballs can be made from flour, water, and a flaky
breakfast cereal, which mixture is formed around a treble
hook. Fish on the bottom or near the bottom with a bobber
in shallow areas from May through October.
In the maps section some of the access areas available to
the public are noted. Certain public areas and private areas
open to the public are available only after paying a fee
and such fees are usually posted. Unless an area is known
to be public or is posted as a public area, it should be
assumed that it is private and permission from the owner
is necessary to use that area.
On the maps, areas have been marked that are known to have
good sport fish populations. Each area is marked showing
the sport fish most likely to be taken there. It is realized
that the areas marked represent only a portion of those occurring
on the river, and as more fishing spots are discovered this
guide will be updated. Access sites available to the public
are labeled and list the basic facilities found at each site.
NO attempt was made to list all access sites, but only those
nearest fishing areas marked on the map.
