Great Lakes
Fly fishing in Illinois
Short answer
Illinois fly fishing means Lake Michigan steelhead and salmon in the north-east, two short stocked trout seasons on inland streams and ponds, and a small corner of Driftless spring creek country in the north-west. A licence is required from age 16, with a separate stamp for inland trout and another for Lake Michigan salmon.
What makes Illinois different
Illinois runs its inland trout fishing on two days a year. The state stocks around fifty sites each spring and autumn and opens them on a single Saturday morning in April and another in October, with the water closed to trout fishing in the weeks beforehand so the fish are still there when the whistle goes. It is a put-and-take programme and makes no pretence otherwise. What a fly angler should actually plan around is Lake Michigan: steelhead and salmon run into the harbours and the few short tributaries at the top of the state, and in Chicago you can fish for a steelhead within sight of the skyline. The third piece is easy to miss — the far north-west corner around Galena is the southern tip of the Driftless Area, and the Apple River and its neighbours hold cold spring-fed water of the kind Wisconsin is famous for.
What trout and other fish are in Illinois?
- Steelhead
- Lake Michigan fish in the harbours and the north-eastern tributaries, autumn into spring.
- Rainbow trout
- Stocked at around fifty inland sites for the spring and autumn seasons.
- Brown trout
- Stocked in smaller numbers, and holding over in a few cold north-western streams.
- Chinook and coho salmon
- Autumn runs into the Lake Michigan harbours, ahead of the steelhead.
Where to fly fish in Illinois
- Lake Michigan harbours
- Chicago and Waukegan. Steelhead and salmon from the walls, which is strange and excellent fishing.
- Apple River
- The Driftless corner near Galena. Cold spring-fed water and the state's best wild trout habitat.
- Waukegan Harbor
- The most consistent shore access for lake-run fish in the state.
- Rock River
- Not trout. Smallmouth in quantity, and a good summer alternative.
- Kishwaukee River
- One of the cleanest rivers in northern Illinois and full of smallmouth.
- Stocked inland sites
- Around fifty ponds and streams statewide, opened on one Saturday each April and October.
When to fly fish in Illinois
| When | What is happening |
|---|---|
| October – November | The autumn trout opener, and the first steelhead and salmon reaching the harbours. |
| December – February | Harbour steelhead when the ice allows. Cold, awkward and occasionally extraordinary. |
| March – April | Spring steelhead, then the inland trout opener on the first Saturday in April. |
| May – June | Hatches on the Driftless streams in the north-west, and smallmouth waking up everywhere else. |
| July – September | Too warm for inland trout. Smallmouth on the rivers, and salmon staging off the harbours late in the season. |
Do you need a license to fly fish in Illinois?
Yes. Licenses are issued by Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
| License | Price |
|---|---|
| Resident, annual | $21.50 |
| Non-resident, annual | $38 |
The totals are the annual fishing licence plus the $6.50 inland trout stamp — $15 for residents and $31.50 for non-residents. A Lake Michigan salmon stamp is a further $6.50 and is the one steelhead anglers need. Figures read from the department's own fee table. Prices change — check with the agency before you buy.
Rules worth knowing before you go
- A fishing licence is required from age 16. The licence year begins 1 March.
- An inland trout stamp is required to fish for or possess trout on inland waters, and a separate Lake Michigan salmon stamp covers trout and salmon there.
- Inland trout waters close to trout fishing ahead of each opener, and reopen on the published Saturday morning.
- Lake Michigan and its tributaries have their own seasons and limits, separate from the inland rules.
- Rules are set in the annual digest and the stocked-site list is published each spring and autumn.
Regulations change every year and vary water by water. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources rule book is the only authority — this page is a starting point, not a legal reference.
Flies that matter in Illinois
Each of these is a card in the deck, and each has a full page in Our Fly-brary.
Keep reading
- Do I need a fishing license? — how licensing works across states
- How to read water — where trout hold, anywhere
- Best time of day to fly fish — the seasonal logic behind the table above
- Our Fly-brary — every fly in the deck, explained
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The deck
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