Illinois Fall Trout Season Opens October 16

Early Catch-and-Release Opportunity Opens October 2 at select sites*

The 2021 Illinois Fall Trout Fishing Season opens Saturday, October 16th at 59 ponds, lakes, and streams throughout the state.

An early opportunity at select trout sites — the Fall Catch-and-Release Fishing Season — will open October 2 at locations marked with an asterisk (*) in the list below. No trout can be kept during the catch-and-release fishing period, but anglers can keep trout after the opening of the regular season beginning October 16th.

Note: For the 2021 fall trout season, no trout may be taken from any of the stocked sites until the fall trout season opens at 5:00AM on October 16. During the season, the daily catch limit is five trout.

The Illinois Catchable Trout Program is funded by those who use the program through the sale of Inland Trout Stamps. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) stocks more than 80,000 rainbow trout each year in bodies of water where trout fishing is permitted during the fall season. An additional 80,000 trout are stocked for the spring season which begins each April.

All anglers — including those who intend to release fish caught before October 16 — must have a valid fishing license and an Inland Trout Stamp, which are available at IDNR license and permit locations, including many bait shops, sporting goods stores and other retail outlets. Check the IDNR website for locations at https://www.exploremoreil.com/agentlocator

Illinois fishing licenses and Inland Trout Stamps are available at DNR Direct license and permit locations, including many bait shops, sporting goods stores and other retail outlets. Check the IDNR website at: https://www2.illinois.gov/dnr/LPR/Pages/LicensePermitVendors.aspx

Fishing licenses and trout stamps can be purchased by using a credit card online via the IDNR website at https://www.exploremoreil.com/

For information about all site regulations, anglers should contact individual sites that will be stocked with catchable-size trout.  Not all sites open at 5:00 a.m. on opening day. Anglers are reminded to check the opening time of their favorite sites prior to the open date.

Participants in the Fall Trout Fishing Season are reminded to follow current guidance from the CDC and Illinois Department of Public Health regarding face masks and social distancing.

2021 Illinois Fall Trout Locations

(* Denotes Sites Open for Catch-and-Release Fly Fishing Early Season)

North

Central

South