Illinois spring trout season opens April 5 at 58 locations statewide

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The 2025 Illinois spring trout fishing season will open April 5 at 58 ponds, lakes and streams throughout the state.

An early opportunity at select trout sites — the spring catch-and-release fishing season — will take place March 22. No trout may be kept during the catch-and-release period, but anglers can keep trout after the opening of the regular season April 5. The daily harvest limit for each angler is five trout.

The Illinois Catchable Trout Program receives funding support by those who use the program through the sale of inland trout stamps. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources stocks more than 80,000 rainbow trout each year in bodies of water where trout fishing is permitted during the spring season. An additional 80,000 trout will be stocked for the fall trout season, which begins in October.

Three new spots will be stocked in 2025.

In McHenry County, spring trout will be stocked into Rush Creek Pond in Harvard due to ongoing construction that will prohibit stocking at Lake Atwood.

In Macon County, spring and fall trout will continue to be stocked in Cattail Pond at Rock Springs Nature Center for the foreseeable future and not at Sportsmans Club Pond. 

In Wayne County, spring trout will be stocked at Turkey Run Shelter Pond at Sam Dale Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area because the trout pond continues to undergo rehabilitation. Signs directing anglers to the temporary site will be posted.

For the 2025 spring trout season, no trout may be taken from any stocked sites between March 15 and the season opening at 5 a.m. April 5. Anyone attempting to harvest trout before the legal harvest season opening will be issued citations.

For information about all site regulations, anglers should contact individual sites that will be stocked with catchable-size trout. Not all sites are open for trout catch-and-release season and not all sites open at 5 a.m. opening day.

The spring trout season offers opportunities for families to get outdoors and enjoy fishing. Resources are available online for taking youth fishing. All anglers, including those who intend to release fish caught before April 5, must have a fishing license and an inland trout stamp unless they are younger than 16, blind or disabled, or are an Illinois resident on leave from active duty in the Armed Forces.

Fishing licenses and trout stamps can be purchased by using a credit card online. Visit http://ifishillinois.org for more information on trout seasons and other Illinois fishing opportunities.

2025 Illinois Spring Trout Locations

(** Denotes sites open for catch-and-release early spring season fishing)

CENTRAL ILLINOIS

Adams County

• Siloam Springs State Park Lake **

Cass County

• Gridley Lake, Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area **

Champaign County

• Kaufman Lake, Champaign Park District
• Lake of the Woods, Champaign County Forest Preserve District

Christian County

• Manners Park, Taylorville Park District

Clark County

• Casey Park Pond, Casey

Coles County

• Eastern Illinois University Campus Pond, Charleston

DeWitt County

• Weldon Springs, Weldon Springs State Park

Hancock County

• Horton Lake, Nauvoo State Park **

Macon County

• Rock Springs Cattail Pond, Macon County Conservation District

McLean County

• Miller Park Lake, Bloomington

Morgan County

• Morgan Lake at Nichols Park, Jacksonville **

Moultrie County

• Wyman Lake, Sullivan

Pike County

• King Park Pond

Sangamon County

• Illinois Department of Transportation Lake, Springfield **
• Southwind Park, Springfield
• Washington Park Pond, Springfield

Shelby County

• Forest Park Lagoon, Shelbyville

Vermilion County

• Clear Lake, Kickapoo State Recreation Area