A handful of years after a major channel cat stocking, Lake Mattoon is showing signs that it could become a target destination for Illinois catfishermen.
DNR’s most recent survey of the 1,050-acre central Illinois
On a somewhat regular occasion, river fish and lake fish mingle in Des Plaines Lake and the Des Plaines River – but the two popular fishing water bodies should never be confused.
Des Plaines
Another big stocking of redear sunfish took place in Osprey Lake in 2025, continuing an effort to boost fishing in the collection of lakes that make up the Mautino State Fish and Wildlife Area.
Fish stocking at Lake Bloomington the past few years has been focused on walleyes, largemouth bass, and hybrid striped bass – three species that seem to attract the most interest at the 635-acre McLean County
A fish kill in 2024 dampened expectations that Ramsey Lake would soon become a “top tier” fishing lake in Illinois.
Dampened them, maybe – but it didn’t defeat them. Bass and catfish remain strong
Channel cats, redear sunfish, and rainbow trout have been the focus of DNR stockings at Beaver Dam Lake the past five years – evidence of what anglers are looking for when they visit the cozy
DNR fisheries biologists have described Lake Springfield’s balanced largemouth bass population as “heavily bodied.”
The 7-pound, 8-ounce largemouth bass caught by Mya Russell in March 2025 contradicts biologists’ recent summaries of Newton Lake’s population of the species.
Then again, 7-pound bass tend to contradict summaries of all sorts.
Regular anglers on Muskegon Lake aren’t typically interested in rankings – unless they’re being asked to rank the fish species found in the 4,150-acre water body.
Even in that case, anglers struggle to put
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