THE RIVERS & CREEKS OF ILLINOIS
MAJOR AREAS OF INFORMATION:
Major
fishing rivers and creek are included and may be selected
for additional information and fishing secrets.
Links
to detailed river fishing information including access
points, boat launches, canoeing opportunities, river
navigation charts (from US Army Corps of Engineers),
and fish catching potential selected rivers and creeks
of Illinois.
Channel
catfish are the "bread and butter fish"
of Illinois' 13,000 miles of
inland streams and rivers, but anglers also catch walleyes,
saugers, smallmouth
bass, northern pike, largemouth bass and pan-fishes
in backwaters and channels
of these waters.
The rivers and creeks included in this section provide
the major stream fishing
opportunities in the state. Several of these rivers
and creeks provide world-class
sport fishing opportunities to Illinois anglers and
national tournament participants. These
secret locations to catch the "big one"are noted along
with angling
tips to help you have a successful fishing adventure.
Shorelines of many streams are privately
owned, and anglers stopping to wade, camp or fish from
these lands must first obtain permission from the landowners
to do so.
BOUNDARY
RIVERS RECIPROCAL FISHING REGULATIONS AND FISHING INFORMATION
Anglers shall not fish from land attached to or taxed by the state in which they
are not licensed or fish in tributaries, bayous, or backwaters of the state.
Anglers must abide by the laws of the state in which they are fishing. Link goes
to more detailed fishing regulation information specific to each boundary state.
Eleven of the 43 state record fish listed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources have been caught from rivers. They range from a 157-pound alligator gar, taken from the Mississippi River in 1944 (the largest fish ever recorded in the state) to a 14-pound walleye from the Kankakee River.
ILLINOIS
RIVERS GAGING DATA
Links to real-time and historical water levels for Illinois ' rivers and creeks.
Links are to USGS, Corps of Engineers, and Illinois DNR websites. Invaluable
to anglers planning to fish on rivers and creeks.
Heavy rains and drought alter conditions of Illinois' rivers. During periods
of high water they often are burdened with heavy silt loads. Likewise, during
dry conditions, low water may make floating difficult in some areas. Fishing
success depends upon fish species sought, time of the year, water conditions
and fishing techniques. Make sure to check advice provided in the Fishing
Tips and Weekly
Fishing Reports sections of this website.
ILLINOIS RIVERS
DECISION SUPPORT SITE
The ILRDSS web site is a portal to information related to the Illinois River
Basin. Information is organized and fully searchable by keyword, category, product,
and geographic area. The website is maintained by the Illinois DNR - State Water
Survey.
FISHERIES DATA
COLLECTED BY DNR FISHERIES BIOLOGISTS – Big
Rivers or Small Rivers and Creeks
Fisheries
data are collected each year by DNR Fisheries Biologists on Big Rivers and
smaller Rivers and Creeks (Streams) in Illinois. More than 600 individual
samples are collected at selected river and stream stations throughout the
State. All fish species and other aquatic life including mussels are
recorded and summarized for the public (available on this website IFISHILLINOIS.org).
WATERSHED
PLANNING GUIDE FOR ILLINOIS
This Guidance for Developing
Watershed Action Plans in Illinois aims to help the reader create
and develop an effective watershed-planning initiative that will produce
a locally driven watershed action plan. The
Illinois Guide features seven chapters. Each chapter represents
a step in the strategy for conducting a watershed planning process.The
Illinois Guide is written so as to be useable by anyone interested
in the watershed planning process.
