Illinois trout season starts April 6

Sharon Wren
·2 min read

Anglers, it’s time to practice your casting; trout season is less than a month away!

The 2024 Illinois spring trout fishing season starts Saturday, April 6 at 58 ponds, lakes and streams throughout the state. Fishing fans can catch and release at select trout sites, starting Saturday, March 23. No trout may be kept during the catch-and-release period, but anglers can keep trout after the opening of the regular season on April 6. The daily harvest limit is five trout per angler.

Trout fishing is available at these area locations:

  • Bureau County, Hennepin Canal Parkway

  • Jo Daviess County, Apple River, Apple River Canyon State Park (Open for catch-and-release early spring season fishing)

  • Rock Island County, Prospect Park, Moline

  • Whiteside County, Centennial Park Pond, Rock Falls

The Illinois Catchable Trout Program is supported through the sale of inland trout stamps. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (DNR) stocks over 80,000 rainbow trout each year in bodies of water where trout fishing is permitted during the spring season. An additional 80,000 trout will be stocked for the fall trout season, beginning in October.

No trout may be taken from any stocked sites between March 15 and April 6 at 5 a.m. Anyone who attempts to harvest trout before the legal harvest season opening will receive citations.

For information about all site regulations and fishing hours, anglers should contact the individual fishing sites. Not all sites are open for trout catch-and-release season or open at 5 a.m. on opening day.

The spring trout season gives families an opportunity to get outdoors and enjoy fishing. Click here for resources to teach kids about fishing. All anglers, including those who intend to release fish caught before April 6, 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.

Fishing licenses and trout stamps can be purchased by using a credit card online here. Click here for more information on fishing in Illinois.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com.