Illinois River
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Illinois River Fishing Reports
Stay up to date with the latest fishing reports from Illinois River. Reports are submitted by local anglers, fishing guides, and our team of fishing experts.
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- Species
Smallmouth BassTechniqueVertical Jigging Mid Depth (10-19')SeasonWinterStructurePointsHad to fight for them today, but once I found them it was domination. It’s cold out and the river is high. That’s not going to stop me from one-upping Mother Nature. Bass and walleyes were all 7-10 feet deep off of points relating to baitfish. I’ve told you all before “find the bait-find the fish,” and find the fish I did! It’s all about vertical jigging right now. Just like Usher used to sing “nice and slow, that’s the tempo.” Get on top of em and work the bait slow. The FF minnow was a finesse touch that sealed the deal. Like Tony Danza my Damiki Vault showed a few young walleyes “who’s the boss.” Great day on the water and I am damn proud to be an American. See you in the woods or on the water! -GrundyBassman
- Species
Largemouth BassTechniqueFinesse JigsSeasonWinterStructurePoints3 lber on the finesse jig
- SpeciesLargemouth BassTechniqueSoft JerkbaitsSeasonFallStructureSubmerged Vegetation
Was doing a little ultralight fishing at a local pond then moved to the river. Was casting around the bank as well as by some fountains towards the middle of the pond. Ended up having a great day with 10 fish caught in about an hour.
- SpeciesSmallmouth BassTechniqueHard JerkbaitsSeasonSpring (Pre-Spawn)StructureRiver Channels
Small mouth sitting in river channel, 6-9ft of water, smashing the GP baby kingyo +1!!
- Species
White BassTechniqueHard Topwater (Walking)SeasonFallStructureShad 
Omnia Community MemberBronze AmbassadorSpecies
Common CarpTechniqueBobbersSeasonSummerStructureRiver ChannelsWhite bread also works
- SpeciesLargemouth BassTechniqueTexas Rigs (Pitch/Flip)SeasonSpring (Spawn)StructureDocks
Did a tournament on the Des Plaines/Kankakee/Illinois river the other day. We got 7th out of 40 boats and got a limit and culled 4 times. Our bag was 9.49 and big bass was 2.74. It was a good tourney and caught a lot of fish including a drum. The temperature was 55.7 and the bass were stuck on structure both deep and shallow. We got them under docks flipping and hopping.
- SpeciesSmallmouth BassTechniqueSwim JigsSeasonSpring (Post-Spawn)StructureRiver Channels
Slow swimming it close to the bottom!
