Illinois Fishing Tournaments
Bass trails, team series and school contests across Illinois lakes, rivers and pools, by month and by water.
Photo of Lake Shelbyville: Dan, CC BY 2.0
Pick for catfishPiscifun LumiCat II catfish rod48% OFFSale $114.99 The Illinois contests nearest you
Your browser reads your location one time to sort these Illinois dates; nothing is kept.
Host pages list 5 Illinois dates ahead, 5 on lakes, rivers and pools and 0 elsewhere, along with 36 published results; every water with its own contest page links from the lists below.
Illinois contest dates, month by month
April 2027
| Date | Event | Water | Organizer | Launch site | County |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2027-04-10 | Phoenix BFL Team/Solo Rend Lake (April 2027) | Rend Lake | Major League Fishing | Rend Lake Conservancy District Ramp, Whittington | Franklin County |
May 2027
| Date | Event | Water | Organizer | Launch site | County |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2027-05-08 | Phoenix BFL Team/Solo Lake Shelbyville (May 2027) | Lake Shelbyville | Major League Fishing | 9th Street Ramp, Shelbyville | Shelby County |
June 2027
| Date | Event | Water | Organizer | Launch site | County |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2027-06-26 | Phoenix BFL Team/Solo Rend Lake (June 2027) | Rend Lake | Major League Fishing | Rend Lake Conservancy District Ramp, Whittington | Franklin County |
July 2027
| Date | Event | Water | Organizer | Launch site | County |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2027-07-17 | Phoenix BFL Team/Solo Lake Shelbyville (July 2027) | Lake Shelbyville | Major League Fishing | 9th Street Ramp, Shelbyville | Shelby County |
August 2027
| Date | Event | Water | Organizer | Launch site | County |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2027-08-14 | Phoenix BFL Team/Solo Rend Lake (August 2027) | Rend Lake | Major League Fishing | Rend Lake Conservancy District Ramp, Whittington | Franklin County |
Illinois host calendars, read November 2026.
Illinois lakes and rivers with contests
- Carlyle Lake tournaments0 upcoming, 1 result
- Clinton Lake tournaments0 upcoming, 3 results
- Des Plaines River tournaments0 upcoming, 3 results
- Fox Chain O' Lakes tournaments0 upcoming, 2 results
- Lake Shelbyville tournaments2 upcoming, 7 results
- Lake Springfield tournaments0 upcoming, 8 results
- Lake of Egypt tournaments0 upcoming, 2 results
- Mississippi River Pool 13 tournaments0 upcoming, 2 results
- Mississippi River Pool 19 tournaments0 upcoming, 2 results
- Rend Lake tournaments3 upcoming, 4 results
Tackle for an Illinois field
Spinnerbaits and squarebills
For stump flats and riprap
Spinning combos
For flooded timber
Fluorocarbon line
For milfoil and coontail
Livewell care
For August releases
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Land of Lincoln water photographed for Illinois Fishing Tournaments
Photo: Gary Todd, CC0 1.0
Photo: uptowner, CC BY 2.0
Photo: edward stojakovic, CC BY 2.0
Photo: U.S. Department of Agriculture, CC0 1.0
Lakes a drive from Illinois Fishing trail stops, photographed
Photo: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Public domain
Photo: Aaron Lucas, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Dan, CC BY 2.0
Photo: Robert Lampros, CC BY-SA 2.0
Illinois contest fishing, asked and answered
Which Illinois waters carry the most contest rows here?
Lake Shelbyville, Lake Springfield, Rend Lake and Clinton Lake hold the most dated rows read from host pages.
How many Illinois contests are still ahead?
5 future dates as of November 2026, with 36 dated champions on file.
Where do the Illinois dates on this page come from?
From the hosts: Major League Fishing event pages and releases, Illinois B.A.S.S. Nation standings, Fishers of Men results, IHSA brackets and SAF fact sheets, one link per row.
Which Illinois host appears most often?
Major League Fishing, with 5 dated events.
What is the next Illinois contest listed?
Phoenix BFL Team/Solo Rend Lake (April 2027) on Rend Lake, starting 2027-04-10.
Which Phoenix BFL dates are set for Rend Lake and Lake Shelbyville?
MLF event pages list 5 coming one-day Team/Solo dates on the two Corps lakes: Rend Lake 2027-04-10; Lake Shelbyville 2027-05-08; Rend Lake 2027-06-26; Lake Shelbyville 2027-07-17; Rend Lake 2027-08-14.
Why are high school results not averaged?
The 15 IHSA and SAF results on file are school boats, mostly sectionals and a two-day state final, so they are printed by school or club and kept out of the adult one-day five-bass average.
How is the Illinois average winning bag built?
From 18 dated one-day adult titles whose printed format names a five-bass limit; two-day Super Tournament totals, catfish weights and three-bass bags are printed as posted.
Why do some Illinois results have no water page?
Calumet Sag Channel has no page of its own on this site, so those results sit on the results list only.
How do I find an Illinois contest close by?
Tap the near-me button up top and it sorts the six nearest coming Illinois contests by distance from you.
How Illinois contests sit under the IDNR digest
Every date on this board was read from the host that printed it, among them Major League Fishing, the Illinois B.A.S.S. Nation, Fishers of Men, IHSA and SAF, each linked in its row.
A contest field fishes under the same 2026 digest rules as everyone else on that water: the statewide daily and size limits, the black bass limit of 6 combined a day, and any site-specific rule IDNR prints for the named lake, river or pool.
Anglers 16 and older carry an Illinois fishing license ($15 a year for residents, $31.50 for nonresidents in 2026). The digest also requires the $6.50 Salmon Stamp to take salmon or trout in Lake Michigan.
2026 Illinois Fishing Information digest (IDNR); host pages linked in the tables; read November 4, 2026.
Know a tournament that is not listed?
Send it here with a link to the organizer’s event page or schedule. Weekly and monthly ones only need to go in once. If that page shows the name and the date (or the day of the week), it goes on this page right away. If not, we check it by hand within a week.
We keep what you send so we can check the event. Your email is never published.