Recent DNR surveys and stocking efforts offer a snapshot of ongoing efforts to boost Lake Le-Aqua-Na a handful of years after it was temporarily “taken off the grid.”
The 43-acre lake’s fishing potential, backed
Beaver Dam Lake got a major shot in the arm this year, with more than 22,000 fish stocked into the 56-acre Macoupin County lake.
The southern Illinois reservoir continues to produce a strong crappie fishery. DNR’s 2025 survey produced 26 crappies per hour, with more than half of the catchable fish of white and black species exceeding 10 inches.
There are some lakes you visit because you want to catch fish, and there are others where you go because you never quite know what might be tugging on the other end of the line.<br
Evergreen Lake continues to offer central Illinois anglers a diverse fishery, with excellent opportunities for saugeye and muskies and more modest prospects for bass and crappies.
The 925-acre McLean County lake has long been
It may cover only 26 acres, but Citizens Lake packs plenty of fishing opportunity into a relatively small package.
Located along U.S. Route 34 on the west edge of Monmouth, the Warren County lake
Tucked into the rolling hills of the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge near Marion, Devils Kitchen Lake has earned a statewide reputation as one of Illinois’ premier bass lakes. But anglers who focus only on
Lake Sara has long been considered one of south-central Illinois’ hidden fishing gems, and recent fisheries surveys suggest the 640-acre reservoir continues to reward anglers seeking quality largemouth bass while offering consistent action for crappies,
More thav 5,400 largemouth bass fingerlings have been stocked so far in 2026 at Washington County Lake, part of an ongoing effort by DNR to return the southern Illinois water to its once-prominent status as
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