Fishing and Camping in Illinois? (Chicago, Peoria: appointed, crime, home)

[doll lady]

I'm not aware of the park you're talking about Linicx...must be a new one. There is a Pittsfield Lake but it's not the same as the huge lake at Pine Lakes. For years, several of our family members had our campers permanently located at Pine Lakes Resort. So most weekends we were there. If I remember right, in order to fish at Pine Lakes you have to be registered and pay a fee.....of course I see on the web site there are new owners so you may want to check for specifics....but I just wanted to clarify that Pittsfield Lake is separate....and I really don't know how the fishing is in that lake.

Pittsfield Lake is quite a little distance from the city and I think it's east and north of the city, unless there are entrances to the Pittsfield lake I'm not aware of. There's also a Dollar General and a County Market store. I think Walmart is on what they use to call old Rte 36 . Pine Lakes is north of the business area ( If you come in on the road from I-72, you'll see a sign to turn to your right....there is another way to come off I-72 and that's at the Bluffs exit ...Rte 100 and Rte 106....be sure to go straight on rte 106 and do not turn on rte 100)....if you come in this way, I think the turn to go to Pine Lakes is the first stop light past the downtown square (gas station on northwest corner), turn right (north) to go to Pine Lakes Resort. If you go straight on this road (rte 106, you'll find Walmart and Country Market, etc. on the left at the edge of town.

And if you go to Pittsfield, be sure to go to Griggsville (just north of Interstate 72). This is the purple martin capital of the nation. There are purple martin houses galore! And the Purple Martin Inn has good food....if I remember right they open really early but don't stay open very late.

[linicx]

doll lady,

I have to admit I don't know my routes that well around Pittsfield. IF I slide US 24 to Mt. Sterling and take a lift at McDonald's to 104 or 107 and enters Pittsfield on the same road as the Drivers License building. When heading south, this road crosses a 4-lane, passes the State Police District Headquarters and the entrance to the camping area. This entrance is less than 5 miles from the hospital.

How far off the entrance is the camp or lake or ??, I do not know. I never took the time to look the area over because I don't camp. It is generally a beautiful area with rolling hills and muture trees. I just assumed it would be just as nice as the area surrounding it. I'm always happy to follow US 54 west in the summer because it passes The Apple Store that is West of Pittsfield but before the Y turn-off on the road toward Hannible. US 54 continues straight into Louisiana, MO.. The Apple Store is a neat place to visit. .

[doll lady]

I don't pay much attention to route numbers either....I just drive or ride and enjoy the scenery. It is very pretty country over in the western part of the state....I just don't like the deer jumping out any time of the day. We like to ride our motorcycle over to Hannibal and then take Missouri Rte 79 down to Lousiana....that is a beautiful drive.

[linicx]

I lived in an area where the residents thought deer were community pets. The only time the deer were on the move and a real problem was dawn and dusk. I would occasionally see a family out early in the morning foraging but not too often. I caught a few in the headlights, too, but I've never had a deer accident. I've lived in heavily wooded areas for years, so I've probably been lucky.

[whatever you want]

In Southern IL there are quite a few good fishing and camping spots although with the cutbacks in funding you had better check before planning a camping trip and make sure the campground is still even open.



Lake of Egypt...North and west end is crowded,heavily fished,but decent crappie/large mouth bass can still be found.Watch for copperheads on the south and east side and those areas are NOT crowded.Camping is iffy.Quite a few marinas and boat launches...be careful ,the associations are nazilike and you better not launch from where you are not supposed to. Golfing,malls,decent places to eat and hotels,SI Miners baseball and quite a few other activities all within a very few miles north of the lake in the Marion/Carbondale area.

Crab Orchard Lake...Good yellow belly catfishing and bass...there was an issue with chemicals awhile back and I quit fishing there(doesn't seem to bother anyone else tho'),but it is still beautiful with lots of good fishing and waterfowl and has some excellent boating too.BE CAREFUL...OBEY the signs and get your vehicle permit at the refuge HQs or I can promise you a ticket.No ifs and or buts about it.Also the refuge has quite a few ponds to fish at too.

Ferne Clyffe....good to take your kids to.Beautiful cliffs,nice playgrounds/picnic areas.Quiet and peaceful campground w/ decent accomodations and lots of hiking trails.Good bluegill fishing.I would recommend this campground.

Mermet Lake...built in an old cypress swamp.IMO it has some of the best catfishing in this end of the state and good bass,BUT it also has some of the biggest,baddest snakes I have EVER seen anywhere in the U.S..Excellent waterfowl hunting.No camping,but with the snakes you couldn't give me the place if I had to sleep there overnight in a tent and you might want to wear stovepipes on your legs while fishing there at night for cats...it's worth it tho'.

Horseshoe Lake...Nice campground,but like Mermet,it has more than it's fair share of vipers Fishing is decent and in the fall the place is absolutely swarming with geese.

Dixon Springs...Pool,nice playground for the kiddies,Chocolate factory right across the road for the big"kiddies".Nice,but small campground.Nice cliffs and rock formations.Clean place

Glen O. Jones Lake...Beautiful area,good bass and red ear fishing...10hp motor limit and NO electric in the campsites,but really nice campground none the less.A few good hiking trails.Surprisingly crowded everytime I have been there tho' and especially for being so far out in the brush.

Rend Lake...This lake is set up for whatever you want.PLENTY of boating,launch sites,campgrounds etc etc.I have enjoyed camping up there at Wayne Fitzgerald campground,but for some reason I personally never had any luck fishing this lake.LOTS of people do tho'.Golfing,decent restaraunts and whatever else you need pretty close no matter where you are on this lake.Can get crowded in the campgrounds.Private campgrounds surround this lake too.


Giant City SP...NICE PLACE...nice clean campground,trails galore,rock climbing for all levels,bluffs,rock formations,horseback riding and rental stables.Absolutely beautiful place.Ponds all over the place and none seem to be "fished out"..Giant city lodge,good food,drinks etc..very quiet,very peaceful.I highly recommend this park to anyone.
DNR

Garden of the GODS...I love this place and spend many Sundays riding and wandering around there(close to home for me).The whole area reminds me of the Smoky Mountains only on a smaller scale.The area is also the home to the second highest spot in the state,Williams Hill.Bluffs,massive hills,creeks,trails,rock climbing,top notch hunting, hiking,horseback riding galore etc etc etc.A quite a few private campgrounds in this area and most cater to horseback riders.
Beware of rattlers and copperheads ANYWHERE in Southern IL,but particularly in this area.
Garden of the Gods

Tunnel Hill Scenic Trail....Although I'm not a bicyclist,THIS is my favorite park in the entire state of Illinois because my business is only a couple hundred feet from it and we count on it for about 20% of our revenue...I have never ridden it on a bike,but I rode it a thousand times on a 4wheeler prior to it becoming part of the IDNR and I have walked sections of it since....AWESOME bike trail that goes for 45 miles from between Harrisburg and Karnak.Tunnel and tressles..Breeden tressel is 450 long and 90 feet above the ground...it has guardrails and everything on it now and is still exciting to cross..it was REALLY exciting crossing it back when it was just ties and rail on a 4wheeler or pickup truck "back in the day"
DNR

Well,you get the picture,there is lot of fishing,hiking,hunting,boating,canoeing,bicycling, horseback riding etc etc etc available here..and there are literally hundreds of lakes,ponds and campgrounds here both private and gov't funded and I've barely touched on any of them ,but if you decide to head this way,DM me and if it's south of Interstate 64 then chances are REALLY good that I can give you the lowdown on the park,campground,lake or trail

[linicx]

I've never spent much time in southern Illinois as I had no reason and it is a fur piece from Peoria. Neverthertheless, I did not realize there was that much fishing and camping in the area and I certainly appreciate the input.

I am aware you and your family do some camping in the summer when you can get away. What do you know about fishing and camping in eastern Illinois? It is the only area of the state that is not well represented.

Are you aware of the NEW World Shooting & Recreational Complex.near Sparta? World Shooting & Recreational Complex - Sparta, Illinois
.

[doll lady]

I called my hubby's sister who lives in Eastern Illinois near Tuscola. She said other than Shelbyville, which I mentioned earlier there, there just aren't a whole lot of well known/large lakes for fishing. Clinton has a lake but for a while it was closed....Weldon Springs (SE of Clinton) and the campgrounds is rated really high and used to be open year round.

We used to go to Walnut Point by Charleston (the home of Eastern Illinois University). When we went there, the bluegills were pretty big there.

Here's a web site I found and has some Eastern fishing sites. Some I don't know anything about.

Fishing in Illinois

Thanks Muleskinner for that good information. I love some of those lakes....and didn't really know about all of the critters/vipers YIKES! I really like the Garden of the Gods too.

Southern Illinois really has lots of lakes and some of the most beautiful country in the world. When our kids were little, we used to load them up on the weekend and away we would go. And we always went to the Street Machine Nationals in DuQoin with our classic car and the DuQoin state fair too! When we didn't take our camper, we would find one of those small roadside motels which are probably not in existence now. Sometimes we would take a picnic lunch and eat at one of the roadside picnic tables.....gas was cheap but those were the days when our money wasn't as big as our thirst for knowledge of the land.

[whatever you want]

Originally Posted by linicx

I've never spent much time in southern Illinois as I had no reason and it is a fur piece from Peoria. Neverthertheless, I did not realize there was that much fishing and camping in the area and I certainly appreciate the input.

I am aware you and your family do some camping in the summer when you can get away. What do you know about fishing and camping in eastern Illinois? It is the only area of the state that is not well represented.

Are you aware of the NEW World Shooting & Recreational Complex.near Sparta? World Shooting & Recreational Complex - Sparta, Illinois
.

As our time has been more limited this past year or so,camping has fallen by the wayside for us

But we do ride motorcycles and scooters quite a bit through these parks and try to hit a few of them every other week or two.

Same goes for fishing,I haven't even went yet this year and that is VERY unusual for me.


As for fishing Eastern IL....I have fished both the Little Wabash and Big Wabash rivers and Kickapoo(what a name) in the past and had good luck on all three.The Little/Big Wabash.... if you catch it when the water first starts rising after a BIG rain,put in at New Haven and head over to the mouth where they join and you can SLAY the fish.I have never had a bad day fishing there if you catch it on the rise.Been quite awhile since I fished it tho.....that strategy goes for fishing the Mississippi and Ohio rivers around here too....catch it when it first starts up and you don't need luck,just wash tubs to bring your fish home in

Kickapoo....been a LONG time since I have been there and IIRC we bank fished and I really can remember to much about it.Nice place tho.

As for the shooting complex,I went once with my cousin who is a top notch trap shooter.Nice place.I had thought about getting back into CAS SASS style shooting again (I shot that style quite awhile when my Dad was still alive),but there again,my time is not my own right now.Maybe next year

[linicx]

Mule,

I know what skeet is, but I have no idea what CAS SASS style is - clay maybe?

When I was a little kid belonged to the Peoria Skeet & Gun Club. He brought home cases of clay every now and then for the club. I used to get the broken pieces and made a mess of the sidewalks playing with it. The fine black grit that was used to make the pigeons was a mess/ To this day I can still see it and feel it every time I hear the word skeet.

[whatever you want]

Originally Posted by doll lady

I called my hubby's sister who lives in Eastern Illinois near Tuscola. She said other than Shelbyville, which I mentioned earlier there, there just aren't a whole lot of well known/large lakes for fishing. Clinton has a lake but for a while it was closed....Weldon Springs (SE of Clinton) and the campgrounds is rated really high and used to be open year round.

We used to go to Walnut Point by Charleston (the home of Eastern Illinois University). When we went there, the bluegills were pretty big there.

Here's a web site I found and has some Eastern fishing sites. Some I don't know anything about.

Fishing in Illinois

Thanks Muleskinner for that good information. I love some of those lakes....and didn't really know about all of the critters/vipers YIKES! I really like the Garden of the Gods too.

Southern Illinois really has lots of lakes and some of the most beautiful country in the world. When our kids were little, we used to load them up on the weekend and away we would go. And we always went to the Street Machine Nationals in DuQoin with our classic car and the DuQoin state fair too! When we didn't take our camper, we would find one of those small roadside motels which are probably not in existence now. Sometimes we would take a picnic lunch and eat at one of the roadside picnic tables.....gas was cheap but those were the days when our money wasn't as big as our thirst for knowledge of the land.

Yes!!!!! We have MORE than our fair share of snakes in the hills and around the lakes/ponds here......

Copperheads are PLENTIFUL here( I ran over one in the middle of town a week or so ago that was massive and it had just crawled onto the road from our little city park where KIDS WERE PLAYING!!...I'm sure it's mate was probably nearby too).We usually stumble across at least a couple on our property every year while mowing or moving steel around.

My uncle had a dog bit by one last year that survived because he seen it happen and rushed it to the vet,I had a dog killed by one 5 yrs or so ago and we also had a horse bit by one about 10 yrs ago....I don't know if it's legal to kill them in IL or not,but they can take me to jail if they want to because they don't survive if I see them.

Cottonmouths will run you completely out of certain back water fishing spots here and they are not the least bit shy about it either..

Once while fishing a creek near Miller City, I was standing on a little narrow strip of ground that protruded out into the creek and I finally ended up breaking a fishing pole to splinters trying to keep them from getting on there and sunning with me...needless to say,I left it with them....I had to walk nearly a half mile back to the truck through waste high weeds and after seeing all of those snakes,I died a thousand deaths on the way out of there

Timber Rattlers..In the past I used to see quite a few of them every summer while riding,but the past 5 or 6 years they seem to have really thinned out for some reason or another (GOOD)...they are now protected in IL and WHY I do not know.More idiotic IL laws I guess.

There are some animals/bugs I don't much care for like cats,spiders and now the coyotes are REALLY becoming a hassle here,but I can deal with it and not really care one way or the other...Snakes on the other hand,I HATE them with a passion.

IL Herpetology Species List | Illinois Natural History Survey | U of I

Whoever wrote the article in the link below is a tree hugging dumb ass that must not have kids,animals nor spend much time out of an office complex...read the last paragraph

Timber Rattler - Waterman and Hill-Traveller's Companion