Illinois e-News Release

Thursday, March 14, 2024

SPRINGFIELD – 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 Saturday, 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.

Mill Race Ponds, Belvidere

Hennepin Canal Parkway

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

Grove Lake, DuPage County Forest Preserve District

Pickerel Lake, DuPage County Forest Preserve District

Silver Lake, DuPage County Forest Preserve District

Apple River, Apple River Canyon State Park **

Bird Park Quarry, Kankakee

Rock Creek, Kankakee River State Park **

Big Lake, Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area

Sand Lake, Illinois Beach State Park

Illinois and Michigan Canal Lock 14, LaSalle

Lake Mendota, Village of Mendota

Lake Atwood, McHenry County Conservation District

Piscasaw Creek, McHenry County Conservation District

Pine Creek, White Pines Forest State Park **

Prospect Park, Moline

Waddams Creek, Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Park

Yellow Creek in Krape Park, Freeport

Centennial Park Pond, Rock Falls

Lake Milliken, Des Plaines State Fish and Wildlife Area

Baumann Lake, Cherry Valley

Four Lakes, Winnebago County Forest Preserve District

Siloam Springs State Park Lake **

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

Kaufman Lake, Champaign Park District

Lake of the Woods, Champaign County Forest Preserve District

Manners Park, Taylorville Park District

Casey Park Pond, Casey

Eastern Illinois University Campus Pond, Charleston

Weldon Springs, Weldon Springs State Park

Horton Lake, Nauvoo State Park **

Rock Springs Cattail Pond, Macon County Conservation District

Miller Park Lake, Bloomington

Morgan Lake at Nichols Park, Jacksonville **

Wyman Lake, Sullivan

King Park Pond

IDOT Lake, Springfield **

Southwind Park, Springfield

Washington Park Pond, Springfield

Forest Park Lagoon, Shelbyville

Clear Lake, Kickapoo State Recreation Area

Mount Vernon Game Farm Pond

Ferne Clyffe State Park Lake

Belk Park Pond, Wood River

Boston Pond, Stephen A. Forbes State Recreation Area

Fairgrounds Pond, Fort Massac State Park

Derby Lake, World Shooting and Recreational Complex, Sparta

Main Lake, Frank Holten State Park

Jones Park Lake, East St. Louis

Willow Lake, Peabody River King State Fish and Wildlife Area **

Beall Woods Lake, Beall Woods State Park

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