Lake Profile -- KINKAID LAKE

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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

Maps are not intended for navigation.

There are no zebra mussels in this lake.

Fishing Outlook ( Full PDF Report )

Click here for a list of all reports.

Species	Rank	Fish Status
BLUEGILL	Poor	The bluegill population structure is poor. During the 2016 spring electrofishing survey, no bluegill over 8 inches were collected.
CHANNEL CATFISH	Excellent	Kinkaid Lake has an excellent and underutilized channel catfish population.
CRAPPIE	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.
FLATHEAD CATFISH	Fair	Surveys indicate that a small number of flathead catfish are present.
LARGEMOUTH BASS	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.
MUSKELLUNGE	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.
REDEAR SUNFISH	Average	The redear population is average. Of the redear collected in the 2016 spring electrofishing survey, 12% were over eight-inches in length.
SMALLMOUTH BASS	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.
WALLEYE	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
618-684-2867
IDNR Fisheries Biologist, Shawn Hirst
618-687-4546

There were 81 tournaments held on this waterbody in 2018.

Species	Total Fish Caught
Bluegill	36
Crappie	468
Largemouth Bass	2127
Muskellunge	48
Smallmouth Bass	1

Top 5 Largemouth Bass caught on this waterbody in 2018 tournaments:

1 6.56 lbs

2 6.42 lbs

3 6.38 lbs

4 6.31 lbs

5 6.25 lbs

Top 5 Bag Weights of Largemouth Bass caught on this waterbody in 2018 tournaments:

1 528.19 lbs

2 306.23 lbs

3 289.99 lbs

4 237.01 lbs

5 226.82 lbs

Interested in participating in one of these public tournaments? Contact us with tournament ID for more information.

2019 Approved or Pending Tournaments
Start Date	ID	Approval	Ramp Location	Bank/Boat Hook/Bow	Max Boats	Species	Youth?	Open to Public?
June-01	11621	Approved	Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina	boat hook	24	Largemouth Bass	No	Yes
June-02	13225	Approved	Paul Ice	boat hook	24	Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass	No	No
June-02	13345	Approved	Johnson Creek	boat hook	7	Largemouth Bass	No	No
June-09	12558	Approved	Paul Ice	boat hook	15	Largemouth Bass	No	Yes
June-09	13487	Approved	Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina	boat hook	20	Largemouth Bass	No	No
June-15	12572	Approved	Paul Ice	boat hook	20	Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass	No	No
June-16	12120	Approved	Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina	boat hook	20	Largemouth Bass	No	No
June-22	10687	Approved	Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina	boat hook	24	Largemouth Bass	Yes	Yes
June-22	11611	Approved	Paul Ice	boat hook	15	Largemouth Bass	No	No
June-23	12038	Approved	Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina	boat hook	24	Largemouth Bass	No	Yes
June-24	12620	Approved	Paul Ice	boat hook	24	Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass	No	No
June-30	12211	Approved	Paul Ice	boat hook	8	Largemouth Bass	No	No
June-30	12585	Approved	Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina	boat hook	6	Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass Spotted Bass	No	No
July-14	10642	Approved	Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina	boat hook	17	Largemouth Bass	No	No
July-14	12559	Approved	Paul Ice	boat hook	15	Largemouth Bass	No	Yes
July-27	12121	Approved	Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina	boat hook	20	Largemouth Bass	No	No
July-27	12840	Approved	Paul Ice	boat hook	24	Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass	No	No
July-28	11735	Approved	Paul Ice	boat hook	20	Largemouth Bass Spotted Bass	No	No
August-10	12138	Approved	Paul Ice	boat hook	10	Largemouth Bass	No	No
August-10	12944	Approved	Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina	boat hook	15	Largemouth Bass	No	No
August-18	12563	Approved	Paul Ice	boat hook	15	Largemouth Bass	No	Yes
August-18	13052	Approved	Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina	boat hook	15	Largemouth Bass	Yes	No
August-24	12456	Approved	Paul Ice	boat hook	20	Largemouth Bass	No	No
August-25	12384	Approved	Paul Ice	boat hook	10	Largemouth Bass	No	No
September-07	10910	Approved	Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina	boat hook	50	Largemouth Bass	No	Yes
September-21	12255	Approved	Paul Ice	boat hook	10	Largemouth Bass	No	No
September-22	12565	Approved	Paul Ice	boat hook	15	Largemouth Bass	No	Yes
September-28	11132	Approved	Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina	boat hook	100	Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass	No	Yes
September-28	11836	Approved	Paul Ice	boat hook	20	Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass	No	No
October-05	10664	Approved	Paul Ice	boat hook	10	Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass	No	No
October-05	10914	Approved	Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina	boat hook	50	Largemouth Bass	No	Yes
October-06	10689	Approved	Paul Ice	boat hook	10	Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass	No	No
October-06	12097	Approved	Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina	boat hook	10	Largemouth Bass	No	No
October-06	12464	Approved	Paul Ice	boat hook	20	Largemouth Bass	No	No
October-12	11179	Approved	Paul Ice	boat hook	20	Largemouth Bass	No	No
October-12	11286	Approved	Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina	boat hook	10	Multiple Species	No	No
October-12	11853	Approved	Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina	boat hook	15	Largemouth Bass	No	No
October-13	12187	Approved	Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina	boat hook	24	Crappie	No	No
October-19	10686	Approved	Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina	boat hook	35	Muskellunge	No	Yes
October-26	10918	Approved	Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina	boat hook	50	Largemouth Bass	No	Yes
October-27	11902	Approved	Paul Ice	boat hook	24	Largemouth Bass	No	No
November-02	11999	Approved	Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina	boat hook	10	Largemouth Bass	No	No
November-02	12188	Approved	Mt Joy/Main Ramp/Kinkaid Marina	boat hook	35	Muskellunge	No	Yes
November-09	13169	Approved	Paul Ice	boat hook	24	Largemouth Bass	No	No