lake fishing for walleye

Great Tips For Walleye Fishing Popular Illinois Lakes

Illinois walleye fishing is quite similar to fishing other lakes at the same latitude. Shelbyville, little Shabbona, and the productive Fox Chain are only a few examples of some of the great walleye fishing you have in Illinois. All the lakes in this state are begging for anglers to apply some effective and often times nontraditional tactics. You have some virtually untapped walleye and sauger fishing that I would rank right up there with some of the popular Northern destinations. Let's take a look at these three lakes and some good ways to catch walleyes that you can apply to other lakes in Illinois.

In lake Shelbyville you find the walleyes split up when spawning. A major portion runs up the Kaskaskia river while another portion uses rocky points and the rip rap dam in the main lake. A great time to fish Shelbyville is in June. You find the two populations of walleyes coming together and feeding heavily in the middle third of the reservoir. Target large flats in 2 to 8 feet of water. Troll bottom bouncers, spinners and crawlers to clean up on these fish.

On some flats you get subtle rises. These high spots on the flats are dynamite to troll over, so mark them with your GPS and play connect the dots with your trolling passes. As summer heat takes over the walleyes split up. Some move deep and another untapped segment of the population suspends. Troll crankbaits sifting the 12 to 25 foot column of water out from the major flats during dog days. Occasionally bump structure and spend plenty of time chewing up open water on Shelbyville. If you hit a big pack of white bass, you're in the right area! Just get your baits below the whites for walleyes. It never fails. The other option is casting jigs or crankbaits to shallow wind swept rocky points. This is a great multi species tactic that get you plenty of white bass, a few walleyes, and largemouth bass on Shelbyville.

For Shabbona lake you want to work weed growth over the open water season. Before the weeds are up you will find walleyes a little deeper, hanging just out from these areas. If you know the prime weed beds be sure to pull a lindy rig and leach or fathead minnow just out from where a major weed bed will be developing. Once the weeds start coming up in Shabbona, get up on the weed flats and troll spinners or crankbaits over the weed tops. If you whack fish in the same area on each pass, anchor up and try a slip bobber and leech, set to dangle just above the weed tops.

The Fox Chain is a popular walleye destination and it's one of my favorites. Shallow cranking programs work well here. Use planer boards to spread your baits out or another good option - 10 foot trolling rods. You can control your baits better with long rods, but planer boards give your baits extra action with the waves and offer more flexibility for really getting a crankbait away from the boat in skinny water. I also enjoy casting jigs to shallow rocky lipped shorelines or around the bridges as walleyes come off spawn in the Fox Chain. Get around the right bridge and you'll really make hay. As summer wears on and dog days set in I find finesse crankbait patterns work the best. There are many variables that go into this deadly technique, however, the main idea is to very slowly walk your crankbaits within 1/4 inch of the bottom. You want your treble hooks dragging on the bottom, with the lip of the bait occasionally smacking the bottom. Other overlooked patterns for dog days walleyes include fishing shallow out over deep water and fishing around moving water. Each has a place and time on the Fox Chain.

There are many more walleye waters to cover in Illinois. We've just scratched the surface with a few inland walleye lakes and a fraction of the patterns available in a fishing year. Be sure to click on the link to read a great deal more about walleye dynamics in the inland waters of Illinois. http://www.inlandwalleye.com/inventory.html

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