Largemouth Bass

More anglers come to southern Illinois for largemouth bass than any other fish species. This aggressive and pugnacious game fish makes it one of the sought after trophies in the area. Bass up to 10 pounds are caught with regularity. When the daffodils begin blooming in south central Illinois, bass begin moving toward the shoreline in search of small fish and crawfish. Flashy spinner baits and jig-n-pig account for the many of the early bass during February through April.

However, in late April and May these fish drop back to deeper water and feed on forage fish near underwater stumps and brush. Cooler weather in October and November bring many of the bass back to the shoreline looking to put on body fat.

Crappie (Cr - au- pee)

Looking for fun and a great eating fish? You might as well head your boat to southern Illinois for some of the finest crappie fishing in the state. A fish for all seasons best describes the crappie. March through June are the months to put up a winter's supply of fish. Spawning takes place in mid-April on the shoreline of all the lakes. A crappie's main weakness is that it cannot keep it's mouth shut. Once you find a school of these minnow chasers, you probably will have a good morning of fishing ahead of you whether it be in the winter or summer. Tube jigs and frisky minnows will fill your stringer.

Many people quit fishing for crappie after the spawn. Advanced crappie chasers know that the larger schools and biggest crappie will cruise the 10 to 15 foot drop-offs all year long. A key submerged stump or man-made Christmas tree pile will supply anglers with fish all season long. October and November are excellent months to fish for crappie during the afternoons.

Bluegill (Brim)

Scrappy, great family fish, and excellent eating are only a few words to describe this most popular fish. Bluegill are found in every pond, lake, stream, and river of our area. If you are 4 and 94, you will always find enjoyment with this sunfish. The secret to catching a lot of bluegill is to think small. Small pencil shaped floats, small hooks, light line (4-6 pond test), an inexpensive rod and reel, and plenty of crickets or small worms. Bluegill will hit live bait generally the instant that it is lowered into the water. If the float doesn't go under within less than a minute, move the bait two or three feed away. Nothing excites an angler more than to see the float being sucked into the inky depth below. Bluegill fishing is at its best slightly before, during and a few days after a full moon in May. These fish will also attempt spawning during a full moon in June and July. These fish can be found near stumps dock pilings, brush and spawn beds.

Channel Catfish

Blood bait, stinky cheese, cut shad, and smelly shrimp may not sound very appetizing to us, however, to a channel catfish it is a gourmet meal. Prized for its eating and fighting ability, this fish is easily recognized by its forked tail and lack of scales. While it has eight whiskers on its mouth, it is the only catfish with a deeply forked tail. The channel cat reaches an average weight of 2 to 4 pounds in most Illinois lakes.

When looking for channel cats, think bottom. This fish spends most of its time under rocks, logs, and brush in deep water. Catfish are omnivorous and feed on a variety of minnows, crawfish, insect larvae, worms, dead animals, and pond weeds. The months of May through October provide some of the best channel catfishing on area lakes. Heavy duty rods, reels, and line are needed to haul in these hard fighting fish. Since catfish are most active at night, most anglers fish from sundown to the next morning running their trot lines and jugs all night.

Hybrid Striped Bass & White Bass

Hybrid striped bass and white bass have similar characteristics. Both species prefer open water, they travel in large schools, each species has a voracious appetite and their basic food source is gizzard and thread fin shad.

Hybrid stripers grow much larger than white bass since they are a cross between a striped bass and a white bass. Look for both of these fish to frequent the same areas of lakes, near old river channels and creeks, at the edges of sharp drop-offs and inundated islands or shallow shelves surrounded by deeper water.

While searching for food, both species move fast, so successful anglers are equally mobile, willing to move about investigating different lake areas while staying alert for telltale "uprisings" of hybrid stripers and white bass feeding on shad near the surface.

To locate these fish, drift or troll with spoons, spinners, jigs and large minnow-like lures and smaller versions of these same artificial baits when fishing for white bass. However, when all else fails and no fish are caught, veteran anglers turn to live shiners from four inches to about six inches long for increased action. Rend Lake has a good population of hybrid stripers which average 2 1/2 pounds in weight. Look for these fish on deep water points, dam area, and the dam tail waters during the spring. White bass will generally be near the hybrid striped bass when the feeding frenzy begins."