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Illinois walleye fishing is quite much like fishing other lakes in the same latitude. Shelbyville, little Shabbona, and also the productive Fox Chain are a few types of some of the great walleye fishing you've in Illinois. All the lakes within this state are begging for anglers to apply some effective and often times nontraditional tactics. You have some virtually untapped walleye and sauger fishing which i would rank right available online for with a few from the popular Northern destinations. Let's take a look at these three lakes plus some good methods to catch walleyes that you can apply to other lakes in Illinois.
In lake Shelbyville you discover the walleyes split up when spawning. A major portion runs in the Kaskaskia river while another portion uses rocky points and also the rip rap dam within the main lake. A wonderful time to fish Shelbyville is within June. You discover the two populations of walleyes uniting and feeding heavily in the middle third of the reservoir. Target large flats in 2 to 8 feet water. Troll bottom bouncers, spinners and crawlers to wash on these fish.
On some flats you receive subtle rises. These high spots around the flats are dynamite to troll over, so mark all of them with your GPS and play connect the dots together with your trolling passes. As summer heat gets control the walleyes separate. Some move deep and the other untapped segment of people suspends. Troll crankbaits sifting the 12 to 25 foot column water out of the major flats during dog days. Occasionally bump structure and spend sufficient time chewing up open water on Shelbyville. If you hit a large pack of white bass, you're in the right area! Just get your baits below the whites for walleyes. It never fails. The other choice is casting jigs or crankbaits to shallow wind swept rocky points. This is a superb multi species tactic that will get you plenty of white bass, several walleyes, and striped bass on Shelbyville.
For Shabbona lake you want to work unwanted weeds within the open water season. Before the weeds are up you'll find walleyes a little deeper, hanging just out from these areas. If you know the prime weed beds make sure to pull a lindy rig and leach or fathead minnow just out from in which a major weed bed is going to be developing. Once the weeds start approaching in Shabbona, get up on the weed flats and troll spinners or crankbaits within the weed tops. If you whack fish in the same area on each pass, anchor up and check out a slip bobber and leech, set to dangle just above the weed tops.
The Fox Chain is a well-liked walleye destination and it's one of my top picks. Shallow cranking programs work nicely here. Use planer boards to spread your baits out or another good option - 10 foot trolling rods. You can take control of your baits better with long rods, but planer boards give your baits extra action using the waves and provide more flexibility for really obtaining a crankbait away from the boat in skinny water. I also enjoy casting jigs to shallow rocky lipped shorelines or round the bridges as walleyes come off spawn within the Fox Chain. Get around the right bridge and you'll really make hay. As summer wears on and dog days occur I've found finesse crankbait patterns work the best. There are lots of variables that go into this deadly technique, however, the primary idea would be to very slowly walk your crankbaits within 1/4 inch of the bottom. You want your treble hooks dragging on the bottom, using the lip from the bait occasionally smacking the underside. 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 around the Fox Chain.
