Illinois spring trout season opens April 6 at 58 locations statewide

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The 2024 Illinois spring trout fishing season will open Saturday, April 6, at 58 ponds, lakes and streams throughout the state.

An early opportunity at select trout sites — the spring catch-and-release fishing season — will open March 23. No trout may be kept during the catch-and-release period, but anglers can keep trout after the opening of the regular season beginning April 6. 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.

In Macon County, spring trout will be stocked at Rock Springs Cattail Pond for the foreseeable future and not Sportsman’s Club Pond. Rock Springs Cattail Pond is currently a fall trout stocking location.

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

For the 2024 spring trout season, no trout may be taken from any stocked sites between March 15 and the season opening at 5 a.m. April 6. 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 6, 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 ifishillinois.org for more information on trout seasons and other Illinois fishing opportunities.

2023 Illinois Spring Trout Locations

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

NORTHERN ILLINOIS

Boone County

• Mill Race Ponds, Belvidere

Bureau County

• Hennepin Canal Parkway

Cook County

• Axehead Lake, Cook County Forest Preserve District
• Belleau Lake, Cook County Forest Preserve District
• Green Lake in Calumet City, Cook County Forest Preserve District
• Horsetail Lake, Cook County Forest Preserve District
• Sag Quarry East, Cook County Forest Preserve District
• Wolf Lake, William W. Powers State Recreation Area, Chicago

DuPage County

• Grove Lake, DuPage County Forest Preserve District
• Pickerel Lake, DuPage County Forest Preserve District
• Silver Lake, DuPage County Forest Preserve District

Jo Daviess County

• Apple River, Apple River Canyon State Park *

Kankakee County

• Bird Park Quarry, Kankakee
• Rock Creek, Kankakee River State Park **

Kendall County

• Big Lake, Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area

Lake County

• Sand Lake, Illinois Beach State Park

LaSalle County

• Illinois and Michigan Canal Lock 14, LaSalle
• Lake Mendota,Village of Mendota

McHenry County

• Lake Atwood, McHenry County Conservation District
• Piscasaw Creek, McHenry County Conservation District

Ogle County

• Pine Creek, White Pines Forest State Park **

Rock Island County

• Prospect Park, Moline

Stephenson County

• Waddams Creek, Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Park
• Yellow Creek in Krape Park, Freeport

Whiteside County

• Centennial Park Pond, Rock Falls

Will County

• Lake Milliken, Des Plaines State Fish and Wildlife Area

Winnebago County

• Baumann Lake, Cherry Valley
• Four Lakes, Winnebago County Forest Preserve District

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

• IDOT Lake, Springfield **
• Southwind Park, Springfield
• Washington Park Pond, Springfield

Shelby County

• Forest Park Lagoon, Shelbyville

Vermilion County

• Clear Lake, Kickapoo State Recreation Area

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS

Jefferson County

• Mount Vernon Game Farm Pond

Johnson County

• Ferne Clyffe State Park Lake

Madison County

• Belk Park Pond, Wood River

Marion County

• Boston Pond, Stephen A. Forbes State Recreation Area

Massac County

• Fairgrounds Pond, Fort Massac State Park

Randolph County

• Derby Lake, World Shooting and Recreational Complex, Sparta

St. Clair County

• Main Lake, Frank Holten State Park
• Jones Park Lake, East St. Louis
• Willow Lake, Peabody River King State Fish and Wildlife Area **

Wabash County

• Beall Woods Lake, Beall Woods State Park

Wayne County

• Turkey Run Shelter Pond, Sam Dale State Fish and Wildlife Area