Lake Shelbyville Il Fishing Report

Ken says: Crappie are starting to move to the banks on the south end. Fish a minnow under a slip cork around lay down logs and brush in the Lithia cove. You may also use a jig under a cork or cast the banks with small jigs and twister tails. We have been Spider Rigging minnows in these regions also and doing well. Water temps are running in the mid 60’s. The lake is at winter pool so be cautious and watch your for shallow regions around the lake. Walleye are slow now but should pickup in a couple of weeks. Big mouth bass are good also and spawning now. Shallow diving crank baits will work here and plastics. (lithiafishingguide.com)

Knocked the snot out of the crappies on 4/11/14. My friend and I caught 80+ using southern pro baits crappie tubes underneath a bobber in 4-8 fow. Just a blast. We both restricted and he had a bonus 14. 5 incher. The bite is just to get good and is going to continue as the crpapie are coming up to spawn. Can’t wait to bound nearly every day. Get on out to Shelbyville for some fast action crappies. (fishhound.com)

I can River as a young man and catching many nice walleyes and saugers. This was after the Environmental Protection Agency EPA began enforcing rigorous water-pollution standards and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources IDNR implemented restocking programs. When fried up, these fish smelled like creosote and had a chemical flavor. Yuck! As an experiment, I placed a 3-pound Illinois River sauger in a livewell at inheritance Lake near Mackinaw. This fish had no access to food and spent five weeks in crystal-clear, contagion-free water before being filleted, breaded and fried to a golden brown. (gameandfishmag.com)

Crappie came on strong on the south end Monday and Tuesday, with anglers catching fish 10-15 feet off the shore along the road on the west side of the lake. More crappie also biting on the north end in recent days. Minnows are working best but jigs are good. The crappie bite had slowed by Wednesday says Karnes. Galvin says he caught some 11-inchers last week. Aaron Geheber of Manito also caught a 48-inch muskie on the north end recently while bass fishing. He and a partner caught four bass over 2 pounds. But in general bass have been pretty slow, as a tournament last Sunday yielded just three fish for the weigh-in. (prairiestateoutdoors.com)

Frequently archived previous years, may help you recognize seasonal patterns for a particular lake. Review the previous reports to find consistent info for summer months of June, July and August. The fall months of September and October. The winter months of November, December, January and February. Pay special attention to the spring March, April and May fishing reports from previous years as they should supply info to assist you predict the estimated time for the spawn. (aa-fishing.com)

Since some Muskie were caught over the 36-inch bound, the new size bound is 48 inches. A decade down the road if these fish are caught and released properly we’ll have 40 to 50 pound muskies in Lake Shelbyville. The longest Muskie caught in Lake Shelbyville, on September 14th, 2001by Tom Ozee of Mattoon, was 51 inches and weighed 30. 09 ounces. Another Mattoon man, Matt Carmean, landed the newest Illinois State Record for Muskie. The new record was caught on April 20th 2002 weighing 38 pounds 8 ounces and 50 3/4 inches long! Lake Shelbyville promises, at some point, to be a leader in the Muskie world. (anglerweb.com)

Welch said that the white bass fishing hasn’t been like this in years. This banner season is attributed to a mix of a great population of white bass coupled with a good forage base. With all the rain and high water at the lake, the shad are found in big schools. Under these present conditions the shad, followed by the whites, move to the northern parts of the lake off points and up into the Kaskaskia River. (articles.chicagotribune.com)

Think about selective harvest when walleye fishing below Shelbyville.   The walleye in the river don’t reproduce naturally and they aren’t stocked.   We only get what comes through the spillway from the lake, and there aren’t numbers to point to how many that’s.   It may be thousands a year.   It may be zero.   I just ask that you be accountable and respect the resource, and I will see you out on the water. (heartlandoutdoors.com)

The Illinois River ranks near the top for channel catfish. Clinton Lake and Evergreen Lake are both tops. Dawson and Weldon Springs are stocked so they are good for smaller channels. Clinton boasts big flatheads with Powerton Lake near Pekin and Canton Lake. Stephenson said Springfield Lake is super for both big channels and numbers of fish. It also has big flatheads. Channels are good at Lake Decatur, Mattoon and Charleston. Lake Decatur also has good numbers of flatheads. (pantagraph.com)

One area of good success was Lake Shelbyville’s crappie fishery. Unbelievable catches of quality fish has stirred a great deal of attention among anglers at this place. During the summer, good catches of big fish have been common. As indicated by many local crappie fishing fans, the past few years has brought to Lake Shelbyville some of the finest crappie fishing in the country. (More information)