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KINKAID LAKE
A Lake Draw Down will be performed from November 1, 2018 through March 1, 2019 resulting in low lake levels. Boaters should use extreme caution during this period.
Lake Information
County: Jackson
Acreage: 2750
Recreational Amenities
Boat Fishing? Unrestricted
Boat Ramps? Yes
Boat Rental? Yes
Skiing? Yes
Swimming? Yes
Picnicking? Yes
Camping? Yes
Click on area names for a more detailed map.
Fish & Wildlife Area,
Johnson Creek,
Marina,
Thompson Neck,
Wilson Schneider Bay
Maps are not intended for navigation.
There are no zebra mussels in this lake.
Lake Status Summary ( Full PDF Report )
Click here for a list of all reports.
Species |
Rank |
Fish Status |
Poor | The bluegill population structure is poor. During the 2016 spring electrofishing survey, no bluegill over 8 inches were collected. | |
Excellent | Kinkaid Lake has an excellent and underutilized channel catfish population. | |
Excellent | Kinkaid Lake is known for producing large crappie. Crappie over 2 pounds are caught each year, and at least two 4-pound crappie have been caught in the last 4 years. Blacknose crappie were first stocked in 2010. Legal-sized blacknose crappie were first caught in 2013. 49% of the crappie collected during the spring 2016 survey were over the minimum nine-inch length limit. Site Regulation: White, black, hybrid crappie: 25 fish daily limit; 9" minimum length limit. | |
Fair | Surveys indicate that a small number of flathead catfish are present. | |
Very Good | Of the bass collected during the 2016 spring survey, 14% were over the minimum 16 inch size limit and 10% were over 18 inches. Ten percent of all largemouth bass collected were between 15-16 inches.Site Regulation: 3 fish daily limit; 16" minimum length limit. | |
Excellent | Kinkaid Lake is one of the premier muskie lakes in Illinois. Muskie are stocked annually and many are caught each year in excess of 40 inches. During the 2016 spring survey muskies collected measured up to 45.3 inches in length. Anglers are encouraged to NOT fish for muskie in the warmer summer months as angling mortality is believed to be very high especially, for larger muskie. Please report tagged MUE to IDNR Fish Biologist Shawn Hirst at 618-687-4546 or email at Shawn.Hirst@illinois.gov. Anglers reporting a tagged muskie will receive information on the history of that fish. If the tag number is covered with algae, simply scrape the algae away with your fingernail or a knife. Please provide tag number (5 digits), length, and catch date. Please do not remove the tag. Site Regulation: 1 fish daily limit; 48" minimum length limit. | |
Average | The redear population is average. Of the redear collected in the 2016 spring electrofishing survey, 12% were over eight-inches in length. | |
Developing | IDNR first stocked smallmouth bass into Kinkaid Lake in 2005. The first documented legal-sized smallmouth (>16”) was observed in 2010. During 2012, numerous legal-sized smallmouth bass were caught with the largest reported fish measuring 18 inches. IDNR is not aware of any smallmouths caught during 2016. An additional 1000 smallmouth bass (4.5 inch average length) were stocked in August of 2016. These fish do not appear to be recruiting in Kinkaid Lake, and no additional SMB stockings are planned. Site Regulation: 3 fish daily limit; 16" minimum length limit. | |
Good | IDNR annually stocks walleye into Kinkaid Lake, and fish up to 11 pounds have been collected in netting surveys. Walleye numbers are not high, but trophy-sized fish can be caught. The best areas are in front of the dam and spillway during spring high water events. During 2016 trap netting, the largest fish collected measured 27 inches and 9.9 pounds. Site Regulation: 6 fish daily limit; 14" minimum length limit. | |
Location: Kinkaid Lake is located in Jackson County three miles northwest of Murphysboro off of State Route 149.
Description: There are 3 public boat launching facilities around the Lake. Kinkaid Lake is 2750 acres in size, has a shoreline length of 82 miles and a maximum depth of 80 feet. The NW portion of the Lake consists of a 3-mile no-wake zone.
Additional Lake Information: Kinkaid Lake receives a tremendous amount of recreational boat traffic during the hot summer months especially on the weekends and holidays. To avoid the crowd, anglers may consider fishing early in the morning and/or during the week. The upper NW portion of Kinkaid Lake is referred to as the Johnson Creek Area. About 3 miles of this area is a no wake zone that gets very turbid for multiple days after heavy rain events. Threadfin shad are stocked into this lake when available as a supplemental forage base. All live bait in excess of 8" must be rigged with a quick set rig.
Tagged Fish: Please report tagged muskie to the Department of Natural Resources at 618-687-4546. Please provide tag number, length of muskie, and catch date.
Fishing Tournaments: Any fishing tournament with 50 or more anglers or 25 or more boats must obtain a permit from the Kinkaid-Reed- Creek Conservancy District (618-687-1722) in addition to the tournament permit from the IDNR. No tournaments over 24 boats are allowed during June-July-August.
Maps of 50 permanent Kinkaid Lake fish attractor locations can be obtained via email by sending a request to Shawn.Hirst@Illinois.gov
Site Regulations:
Largemouth/smallmouth bass: 3 fish daily limit; 16" minimum length limit
Muskie: 1 fish daily limit; 48" minimum length limit
White, black, hybrid crappie: 25 fish daily limit; 9" minimum length limit
Walleye: 6 fish daily limit; 14" minimum length limit
Contact Information: Kinkaid Lake Fish and Wildlife Area 618-684-2867IDNR Fisheries Biologist, Shawn Hirst:618-687-4546
There were 66 tournaments held on this waterbody in 2017.
| Species | Total Fish Caught |
| Crappie | 210 |
| Largemouth Bass | 1862 |
| Muskellunge | 63 |
Top 5 Largemouth Bass caught on this waterbody in 2017 tournaments:
| 1 8.56 lbs | 2 8.06 lbs | 3 8.00 lbs | 4 6.50 lbs | 5 6.41 lbs |
Top 5 Bag Weights of Largemouth Bass caught on this waterbody in 2017 tournaments:
| 1 652.63 lbs | 2 307.38 lbs | 3 269.51 lbs | 4 211.59 lbs | 5 211.34 lbs |
Interested in participating in one of these public tournaments? Contact us with tournament ID for more information.
| 2018 – 2019 Approved or Pending Tournaments | ||||||||
| Start Date | End Date (if different from start) | ID | Approval | Ramp Location | Bank/Boat Hook/Bow |
Max Boats | Species | Open to Public? |
| March-23 | March-24 | 10725 | Approved | Paul Ice | boathook | 24 | Muskellunge | Yes |
| March-23 | 10869 | Approved | Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina | boathook | 50 | Largemouth Bass | Yes | |
| April-06 | 10876 | Approved | Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina | boathook | 50 | Largemouth Bass | Yes | |
| April-20 | 11130 | Approved | Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina | boathook | 100 | Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass | Yes | |
| April-20 | 11306 | Approved | Paul Ice | boathook | 24 | Largemouth Bass | No | |
| April-27 | April-28 | 10668 | Approved | Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina | boathook | 35 | Muskellunge | Yes |
| April-27 | 11852 | Approved | Paul Ice | boathook | 15 | Largemouth Bass | No | |
| May-04 | 11333 | Approved | Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina | boathook | 12 | Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass | Yes | |
| May-11 | 10884 | Approved | Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina | boathook | 50 | Largemouth Bass | Yes | |
| May-18 | 11624 | Approved | Paul Ice | boathook | 18 | Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass Spotted Bass | No | |
| May-19 | 11807 | Approved | Paul Ice | boathook | 15 | Largemouth Bass | No | |
| May-19 | 11975 | Approved | Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina | boathook | 10 | Largemouth Bass | No | |
| June-01 | 11320 | Approved | Johnson Creek | boathook | 12 | Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass | Yes | |
| June-01 | 11621 | Approved | Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina | boathook | 24 | Largemouth Bass | Yes | |
| June-22 | 10687 | Approved | Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina | boathook | 24 | Largemouth Bass | Yes | |
| June-22 | 11611 | Approved | Paul Ice | boathook | 15 | Largemouth Bass | No | |
| June-23 | 12038 | Pending | Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina | boathook | 24 | Largemouth Bass | Yes | |
| July-14 | 10642 | Approved | Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina | boathook | 17 | Largemouth Bass | No | |
| July-14 | 11336 | Approved | Johnson Creek | boathook | 18 | Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass | Yes | |
| July-28 | 11735 | Approved | Paul Ice | boathook | 20 | Largemouth Bass Spotted Bass | No | |
| August-17 | August-18 | 11337 | Approved | Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina | boathook | 24 | Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass | Yes |
| September-07 | 10910 | Approved | Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina | boathook | 50 | Largemouth Bass | Yes | |
| September-28 | 11132 | Approved | Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina | boathook | 100 | Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass | Yes | |
| September-28 | September-29 | 11836 | Pending | Paul Ice | boathook | 20 | Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass | No |
| October-05 | 10664 | Approved | Paul Ice | boathook | 10 | Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass | No | |
| October-05 | 10914 | Approved | Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina | boathook | 50 | Largemouth Bass | Yes | |
| October-06 | 10689 | Approved | Paul Ice | boathook | 10 | Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass | No | |
| October-12 | October-13 | 11179 | Approved | Paul Ice | boathook | 20 | Largemouth Bass | No |
| October-12 | 11286 | Approved | Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina | boathook | 10 | Multiple Species | No | |
| October-12 | 11853 | Approved | Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina | boathook | 15 | Largemouth Bass | No | |
| October-19 | October-20 | 10686 | Approved | Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina | boathook | 35 | Muskellunge | Yes |
| October-26 | 10918 | Approved | Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina | boathook | 50 | Largemouth Bass | Yes | |
| October-27 | 11902 | Approved | Paul Ice | boathook | 24 | Largemouth Bass | No | |
| November-02 | 11999 | Approved | Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina | boathook | 10 | Largemouth Bass | No | |
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