Illinois Trout Fishing

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources reinstated its Catchable Trout Program in 1994. Various lakes and streams are annually stocked with catchable size (10-11 inches) trout in the spring or fall. To legally harvest rainbow and/or brown trout from the Catchable Trout Program sites or any inland waters of the state, licensed anglers also must have an Inland Trout Stamp. The statewide Daily Harvest Limit is five trout per angler.

At Catchable Trout Program sites, spring catchable trout opens at 5 a.m. on the first Saturday of April and fall catchable trout opens at 5 a.m. on the 3rd Saturday of October. Anglers may not harvest trout during the closed periods of March 15 until the spring opener or during October 1 until the fall opener. Anglers may utilize these waters for other species during the closed periods. The closed periods have been established to accommodate the stockings and let stocked fish acclimate prior to the opening dates. The stocked trout can overwinter at some sites and anglers may have the opportunity to harvest trout throughout the year, except for during the closed periods. Select Catchable Trout Program locations are stocked early to provide an early catch and release trout season that begins 2 weeks prior to the regular opening dates (see www.ifishillinois.org for locations). The early catch and release season is also listed for these select waters in the Site Specific Sportfishing Regulations portion of this regulation digest. Anglers must immediately release any trout caught during the early catch and release trout seasons.