Illinois' 2025 spring trout fishing season is open

The 2025 Illinois spring trout fishing season opened Saturday, April 5 at 58 ponds, lakes, and streams throughout the state.

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 2025:  In McHenry County, spring trout will be stocked into Rush Creek Pond in Harvard due to ongoing construction that will prohibit stocking at Lake Atwood in McHenry County.

In Macon County, spring and fall trout will continue to be stocked in Cattail Pond at Rock Springs Nature Center for the foreseeable future and not at 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 because the trout pond continues to undergo rehabilitation. Signs directing anglers to the temporary site will be posted.

Due to the threat of flooding in the Metro East area, the IDNR adjusted the trout stocking plan to ensure a successful opening weekend of the spring trout season. Frank Holten State Park's Main Lake was not stocked with trout as originally planned because of the possible loss of fish to the Mississippi River should flooding occur at the park. Additional trout were stocked in Jones Lake, Willow Park Lake, and Belk Park Lake.

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 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.

2025 Illinois Spring Trout Locations

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
  • Rush Creek Pond, 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
  • Rock Springs Cattail 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
  • IDOT 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