Illinois spring trout season opens April 4
SPRINGFIELD – The 2026 Illinois spring trout fishing season will open Saturday, April 4 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 21. 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 4. 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.
New for 2026:
- In McHenry County, spring trout stocking will be returned to Lake Atwood.
- In Macon County, spring trout will be stocked in Sportsmans Club Pond.
- In Wayne County, spring trout will be stocked at Turkey Run Shelter Pond at Sam Dale Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area as the trout pond continues to undergo rehabilitation. Signs directing anglers to the temporary site will be posted.
- In Adams County, trout will be stocked in the Moorman Park pond for the spring and fall seasons.
For the 2026 spring trout season, no trout may be taken from any stocked sites between March 14 and the season opening at 5 a.m. April 4. 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 4, 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.
2026 Illinois spring trout locations
(** Denotes sites open for catch-and-release early spring season fishing)
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Boone County
Mill Race Ponds, Belvidere
Bureau County
Hennepin Canal Parkway
Cook County
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
DuPage County
Grove Lake, DuPage County Forest Preserve District
Pickerel Lake, DuPage County Forest Preserve District
Silver Lake, DuPage County Forest Preserve District
Jo Daviess County
Apple River, Apple River Canyon State Park**
Kankakee County
Bird Park Quarry, Kankakee
Rock Creek, Kankakee River State Park**
Kendall County
Big Lake, Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area
Lake County
Sand Lake, Illinois Beach State Park
LaSalle County
Illinois and Michigan Canal Lock 14, LaSalle
Lake Mendota, Village of Mendota
McHenry County
Lake Atwood, McHenry County Conservation District
Piscasaw Creek, McHenry County Conservation District
Ogle County
Pine Creek, White Pines Forest State Park**
Rock Island County
Prospect Park, Moline
Stephenson County
Waddams Creek, Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Park
Yellow Creek in Krape Park, Freeport
Whiteside County
Centennial Park Pond, Rock Falls
Will County
Lake Milliken, Des Plaines State Fish and Wildlife Area
Winnebago County
Baumann Lake, Cherry Valley
Four Lakes, Winnebago County Forest Preserve District
CENTRAL ILLINOIS
Adams County
Siloam Springs State Park Lake**
Cass County
Gridley Lake, Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area**
Champaign County
Kaufman Lake, Champaign Park District
Lake of the Woods, Champaign County Forest Preserve District
Christian County
Manners Park, Taylorville Park District
Clark County
Casey Park Pond, Casey
Coles County
Eastern Illinois University Campus Pond, Charleston
DeWitt County
Weldon Springs, Weldon Springs State Park
Hancock County
Horton Lake, Nauvoo State Park**
Macon County
Sportsman club pond, Macon County Conservation District
McLean County
Miller Park Lake, Bloomington
Morgan County
Morgan Lake at Nichols Park, Jacksonville**
Moultrie County
Wyman Lake, Sullivan
Pike County
King Park Pond
Sangamon County
Illinois Department of Transportation Lake, Springfield**
Southwind Park, Springfield
Washington Park Pond, Springfield
Shelby County
Forest Park Lagoon, Shelbyville
Vermilion County
Clear Lake, Kickapoo State Recreation Area
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
Jefferson County
Mount Vernon Game Farm Pond
Johnson County
Ferne Clyffe State Park Lake
Madison County
Belk Park Pond, Wood River
Marion County
Boston Pond, Stephen A. Forbes State Recreation Area
Massac County
Fairgrounds Pond, Fort Massac State Park
Randolph County
Derby Lake, World Shooting and Recreational Complex, Sparta
St. Clair County
Main Lake, Frank Holten State Park
Jones Park Lake, East St. Louis
Willow Lake, Peabody River King State Fish and Wildlife Area**
Wabash County
Beall Woods Lake, Beall Woods State Park
Wayne County
Turkey Run Shelter Pond, Sam Dale State Fish and Wildlife Area
