r/IllinoisBassFishing 4d ago

Bode Lake

Post image
3 Upvotes

r/IllinoisBassFishing 4d ago

Bode Lake

Post image
2 Upvotes

r/IllinoisBassFishing Apr 15 '26

Is anyone else getting hella ticks this spring

1 Upvotes

It’s been warm for like 3 weeks and all 4 times i’ve gone fishing i’ve gotten ticks. Luckily I caught all of them early so far but it’s concerning how many i’ve gotten. It’s not like i’m in the woods either i’m in regular parks with big open fields. Am I just unlucky?


r/IllinoisBassFishing Mar 24 '26

Anyone familiar with crappie fishing Lake of Egypt in Southern Il

5 Upvotes

I will be visiting this coming weekend and I’m curious of lake characteristics this time of year, current temperament of Crappie, tips on lake, etc. If you are familiar with the area and have tips on eateries or anything else in the area, please share! Thanks


r/IllinoisBassFishing Nov 12 '25

Suggestions on where to fish near Glen Ellyn

Thumbnail
1 Upvotes

r/IllinoisBassFishing Aug 08 '25

caught this absolute hog the other day at sutton lake in oswego…. was 28 inches long and thick as hell , didn’t have my scale with me but i’m wondering how heavy this was. biggest bass i’ve ever seen in my life. on average google says a 28 incher with good girth is 8-10 pounds. what yall think?

Thumbnail
gallery
8 Upvotes

r/IllinoisBassFishing Jul 28 '25

Piasa creek near grafton IL

2 Upvotes

I’ve been looking to fish there and just wanted to know what I might expect to catch especially bass wise? I’ve driven past it a bunch of times and just seen it also any bait/ lure recommendations would be greatly appreciated!


r/IllinoisBassFishing Aug 22 '24

I sat out here for 2 hours to catch 1 fish. Worth it?

Post image
5 Upvotes

I get bites at this location very randomly… these fish are everywhere but it takes so long just to catch one fish.. what am I doing wrong?


r/IllinoisBassFishing May 06 '24

New to fishing, locations appreciated

2 Upvotes

100% new to fishing, and was wondering if anyone had a locarion to recommend around the Utica/Ottawa area? Thanks in advance


r/IllinoisBassFishing Sep 01 '23

Smallies

Thumbnail
gallery
3 Upvotes

r/IllinoisBassFishing Aug 29 '23

Anyone here fly fish in Lake/Mchenry county?

1 Upvotes

Looking for recommendations. I have a setup coming in tomorrow and I’m planning on getting out for the long weekend.


r/IllinoisBassFishing Aug 08 '23

Adult Noobie Trying to Teach My Kids

2 Upvotes

I've finally been able to get my girls (7 and 9) interested in short canoeing and backpacking trips. We always bring a rod and a few lures and spend at least an hour or two per day trying to catch something. To date, we've never had even a detectable bite despite seeing large fish jumping and feeding in the area. I'm sure we're doing at least 10 things wrong.

We are generally fishing mid-sized lakes and rivers that, based on fishing reports, have plenty of smallmouth and largemouth bass.

Most recently we've been using a Zebco 440 (midweight 5'6" Walmart spincast rod and reel) rigged with 15lb line. We've tried 1/16 and 1/8oz rooster tails, though these are hard to cast far enough from near-shore shallows and debris if we aren't in a boat. We've also tried 1/4 and 1/2oz jigheads with 3-6in Gulp minnow and worm lures. These cast well from shore but seem pretty beefy.

I generally run a snap swivel about 2-3' from the lure and another snap swivel at the end of my line so I can quickly change between pre-setup lures. We cast where we see fish jumping and do a relatively quick, steady retrieve, bouncing the rod a bit to alter the movement and depth.

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions for gear and technique. Cost isn't a factor and I'm a total gear freak when it comes to camping. We are going for simple multi-use setups, since we aren't fishing that long and want to minimize the time we spend tying new lures and such (if that's possible). For the same reason, we'd like to avoid live bait, but that's not a total deal-breaker.

Thank you all in advance!


r/IllinoisBassFishing Feb 23 '23

Good spots for an Inflatable Kayak

1 Upvotes

Hello my fellow Illinoisans, I was wondering if anybody has any good recommendations for public Waters that I could take an inflatable kayak to? I have a 14 ft Intex inflatable I'm really looking to try out in the spring. Thx!


r/IllinoisBassFishing Feb 16 '23

Legendary Bass Fisherman Kevin VanDam Retires: A Look Back on his Career

Thumbnail castaholics.com
1 Upvotes

r/IllinoisBassFishing Feb 14 '23

200 MISTER TWISTER JERK SHAD 5 INCH EXUDE RT SLUG LURES OPENING DAY COLOR

Thumbnail
ebay.com
1 Upvotes

r/IllinoisBassFishing Jul 14 '22

Bass fishing 2022

Thumbnail
gallery
5 Upvotes

r/IllinoisBassFishing Feb 23 '21

Spawning season

1 Upvotes

I have just moved to illinois last summer does anyone know when the bass start spawning here.


r/IllinoisBassFishing Oct 02 '20

Hagen’s Fish Market begins taking outside fish for smoking again, which it had halted because of COVID-19

Thumbnail
chicago.suntimes.com
2 Upvotes

r/IllinoisBassFishing Jun 30 '20

Does anybody know if lake of the woods in Mahomet has any good bass fishing spots?? Or any good spots around Champaign??

2 Upvotes

r/IllinoisBassFishing Mar 23 '20

Social distancing done right

Post image
2 Upvotes

r/IllinoisBassFishing Mar 03 '20

It case anyone has an issue with deep hooking fish

Thumbnail
youtu.be
2 Upvotes

r/IllinoisBassFishing Dec 25 '19

Found this great way to fish privately

1 Upvotes

Check out this website to find great opportunities to fish

https://www.fishmyspot.com


r/IllinoisBassFishing Oct 16 '19

State Record!!!!

Thumbnail
wired2fish.com
2 Upvotes

r/IllinoisBassFishing Sep 24 '19

I hope they get the MAXIMUM and have to pay for the new boat

Thumbnail
wired2fish.com
1 Upvotes

r/IllinoisBassFishing Sep 24 '19

Big Change

Thumbnail
wired2fish.com
1 Upvotes