CHAMPAIGN, IL (Chambana Today) —The 2026 Illinois spring trout fishing season will begin on Saturday, April 4 across 58 ponds, lakes, and streams around the state.
The spring catch-and-release fishing season will open on Saturday, March 21. No trout may be kept during the catch-and-release period, but anglers can keep trout after the opening of the regular season beginning April 4. 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 fish is permitted during the spring. An additional 80,000 trout will be stocked for the fall season, which begins in October.
New for 2026:
- In McHenry County, spring trout stocking will be returned to Lake Atwood.
- In Macon County, spring trout will be stocked in 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 as the trout pond continues to undergo rehabilitation. Signs directing anglers to the temporary site will be posted.
- In Adams County, trout will be stocked in the Moorman Park pond for the spring and fall seasons.
Anyone attempting to harvest trout before the legal harvest season opening will be issued citations.
The spring trout season offers opportunities for families to get outdoors and enjoy fishing. Resources are available online for taking youth fishing. All anglers, including those who intend to release fish caught before April 4, 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.
In Champaign, McLean, and Vermilion counties, the locations are Kaufman Lake, Lake of the Woods, Miller Park Lake, and Clear Lake.
