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KINKAID LAKE
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
There are no zebra mussels in this lake.
Lake Status Summary ( Full PDF Report )
Click here for a list of all reports.
Species |
Rank |
Avg Wt. |
Avg. |
Fish Status |
Poor | 0.1 lbs |
5 | The bluegill population structure is poor. During the 2015 spring electrofishing survey no bluegill over 8 inches were collected. | |
Excellent | 1.4 lbs |
17 | Kinkaid Lake has an excellent and underutilized Channel Catfish population. | |
Excellent |
N/A |
N/A | 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 caught in 2013. 84% of the crappie collected during the spring 2015 survey were over the minimum nine-inch length limit. Site Regulation: 25 fish limit, 9" minimum length limit. | |
Fair | 1.3 lbs |
15 | Surveys indicate that a small number of flathead catfish are present. | |
Very Good | 1.2 lbs |
13 | During the 2015 spring survey, of the laregemouths collected 13% were over the minimum 16 inch size limit and 6% were over 18 inches. During the larger permitted tournaments, legal-sized LMB (> 16 inches) were caught at a rate of 0.12 fish/hr. The historical average for these tournaments is 0.07 fish/hr. Site Regulation: 3 fish limit, 16" minimum length limit. | |
Excellent | 4.9 lbs |
30 | Kinkaid Lake is one of the premier muskie lakes in Illinois. Muskies are stocked annually and many are caught each year in excess of 40 inches. During the 2015 spring survey, 148 muskie were collected up to 44.1 inches in length. This represented the highest survey catch rate on record. 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-sized fish. Please report tagged muskie to IDNR. Anglers reporting a tagged muskie will receive information on the history of that fish. If the tag number is covered with algae, simply scrap the algae away with your fingernail or a knife. Please provide tag number (5 digits), length of muskie and catch date. Please do not remove the tag. Site Regulation: 1 fish limit, 48" minimum length limit. | |
Average | 0.3 lbs |
7 | The redear population is average. Of the redear collected in the 2015 spring electrofishing survey, 5% were over eight-inches in length. | |
Developing | 0.3 lbs |
8 | IDNR first stocked smallmouths into Kinkaid Lake in 2005. The first documented legal-sized fish (>16”) was observed in 2010. During 2012, numerous legal-sized smallmouth were caught, with the largest reported fish measuring 18 inches. IDNR is not aware of any smallmouth caught during 2015. An additional 500 fish (3.9 inches average length) were stocked in September of 2015. Smallmouth will only be stocked one more year and then the stocking program will be re-evaluated.Site Regulation: 3 fish limit, 16" minimum length limit. | |
Good | 1 lbs |
14 | 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 2015 trap netting, we only collected a single walleye (26 inches). Site Regulation: 6 fish 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). No tournaments requiring permits 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.
Contact Information: Kinkaid Lake Fish and Wildlife Area 618-684-2867IDNR Fish Biologist, Shawn Hirst: 618-687-4546
| 2017 Approved or Pending Tournaments | |||||||
| Start Date | End Date (if different from start) | ID | Ramp Location | Bank/Boat Hook/Bow |
Max Boats | Species | Public? |
| June-02 | 6990 | Mt Joy/Main Ramp | boathook | 24 | Largemouth Bass | Yes | |
| June-04 | 5709 | Mt Joy/Main Ramp | boathook | 24 | Largemouth Bass | No | |
| June-10 | 4460 | Mt Joy/Main Ramp | boathook | 24 | Largemouth Bass | Yes | |
| June-10 | 7035 | Paul Ice | boathook | 24 | Largemouth Bass | No | |
| June-10 | 7040 | Mt Joy/Main Ramp | boathook | 5 | Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass Spotted Bass | No | |
| June-11 | 5159 | Mt Joy/Main Ramp | boathook | 20 | Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass Spotted Bass | No | |
| June-11 | 5732 | Mt Joy/Main Ramp | boathook | 15 | Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass Spotted Bass | No | |
| June-16 | 6991 | Mt Joy/Main Ramp | boathook | 24 | Largemouth Bass | Yes | |
| June-17 | 4808 | Mt Joy/Main Ramp | boathook | 12 | Largemouth Bass | No | |
| June-17 | 6216 | Mt Joy/Main Ramp | boathook | 24 | Largemouth Bass | No | |
| June-22 | 6366 | Paul Ice | boathook | 12 | Largemouth Bass | No | |
| June-24 | 6791 | Paul Ice | boathook | 24 | Largemouth Bass | No | |
| June-25 | 4985 | Mt Joy/Main Ramp | boathook | 20 | Largemouth Bass | No | |
| June-25 | 6862 | Paul Ice | boathook | 10 | Largemouth Bass | Yes | |
| June-25 | 6949 | Mt Joy/Main Ramp | boathook | 20 | Largemouth Bass | No | |
| July-07 | 6992 | Mt Joy/Main Ramp | boathook | 24 | Largemouth Bass | Yes | |
| July-09 | 4461 | Mt Joy/Main Ramp | boathook | 24 | Largemouth Bass | Yes | |
| July-09 | 5463 | Paul Ice | boathook | 20 | Largemouth Bass | No | |
| July-15 | July-16 | 5660 | Paul Ice | boathook | 10 | Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass Spotted Bass | No |
| July-22 | July-23 | 5288 | Paul Ice | boathook | 10 | Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass | No |
| July-22 | 7042 | Paul Ice | boathook | 24 | Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass | Yes | |
| July-23 | 6861 | Paul Ice | boathook | 10 | Largemouth Bass | Yes | |
| August-04 | 6993 | Mt Joy/Main Ramp | boathook | 24 | Largemouth Bass | Yes | |
| August-05 | 4462 | Mt Joy/Main Ramp | boathook | 24 | Largemouth Bass | Yes | |
| August-13 | 6069 | Mt Joy/Main Ramp | boathook | 10 | Largemouth Bass | No | |
| August-20 | 6166 | Paul Ice | boathook | 20 | Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass | No | |
| August-27 | 6404 | Johnson Creek | boathook | 8 | Largemouth Bass | No | |
| August-27 | 6860 | Paul Ice | boathook | 10 | Largemouth Bass | Yes | |
| September-02 | 4463 | Mt Joy/Main Ramp | boathook | 100 | Largemouth Bass | Yes | |
| September-16 | 5710 | Paul Ice | boathook | 24 | Largemouth Bass | No | |
| September-23 | September-24 | 4399 | Mt Joy/Main Ramp | boathook | 10 | Largemouth Bass | No |
| September-24 | 6859 | Paul Ice | boathook | 10 | Largemouth Bass | Yes | |
| September-30 | 4869 | Mt Joy/Main Ramp | boathook | 50 | Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass | Yes | |
| October-01 | 6167 | Paul Ice | boathook | 20 | Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass | No | |
| October-07 | 4464 | Mt Joy/Main Ramp | boathook | 100 | Largemouth Bass | Yes | |
| October-14 | 5654 | Mt Joy/Main Ramp | boathook | 8 | Largemouth Bass | No | |
| October-14 | 6241 | Mt Joy/Main Ramp | boathook | 80 | Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass | Yes | |
| October-15 | 5727 | Mt Joy/Main Ramp | boathook | 20 | Largemouth Bass | No | |
| October-21 | October-22 | 4431 | Mt Joy/Main Ramp | boathook | 40 | Muskellunge | Yes |
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