Fishing Report For Crab Orchard Lake, IL

By Rick Seaman

May 10, 2025

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Fishing Report Crab Orchard Lake, IL

Fishing Reports

Popular Fish Species Crab Orchard Lake, IL

Black Crappie - White Crappie

Current Report: Very Good To Excellent
Outlook: Good To Very Good

Crappie fishing is at its peak, as Spring is the premiere time to be on the water. Crappie have moved into shallow coves to spawn. Expect to find them in 3 to 7 feet of water. The rip-rap along both sides of the causeways, brush, wood and deep vegetation are a good place to cast small crappie jigs or live minnows. Once the spawn is over, and the hot Summer sun warms the shallows, crappie retreat to depths of 10 to 15 feet or deeper. Light tackle with 4 lb to 8 lb line is ideal. Once they move deep, fish finders and forward facing sonar help to locate schools of crappie, which tend to stack vertically around cover.

Largemouth Bass

Current Report: Good To Very Good
Outlook: Very Good

Thanks to a 16-inch minimum length limit on largemouth, the bass fishery is thriving and anglers are consistently catching 3 to 4 pound bass. 5-pound largemouths are not uncommon. Current water temperature is in the low 60's, which is triggering the bass to migrate to spawning bays, and start preparing for the spawn. A wide variety of lures are catching nice largemouth bass here, but many tournament anglers are sticking to basics. Worms, crankbaits and jerkbaits are popular choices. Stick worms, rigged wacky style, often teases wary bass into striking, especially the bigger bass.

Channel Catfish

Current Report: Good
Outlook: Good To Very Good

Catfish enthusiasts are catching a lot of channel cats, averaging about 3 pounds. Plenty of larger specimens are also being caught with some regularity. Fishing for channel catfish is often productive around any kind of structure. Fishing late in the day until midnight often produces the best fishing activity as this is prime feeding time for channel cats. Spring, and again in Fall, are some of the best time of year. Submerged road beds, creek channels and rocky points are all good places to begin. The arm of the lake where Crab Orchard Creek enters the lake, is a good place to find big catfish. Use a slip sinker or Carolina rig setup.

Fish species to fish for...

Guide to fishing for largemouth bass, channel catfish, black crappie, white crappie, bluegill and white bass at Crab Orchard Lake in Illinois.

Crab Orchard Lake Fishing Video

Fish species to fish for...

Guide to fishing for largemouth bass, channel catfish, black crappie, white crappie, bluegill and white bass at Crab Orchard Lake in Illinois.

Crab Orchard Lake is a 6,900-acre lake with miles of shoreline. It offers a wide variety of fish species for anglers. Bass, crappie, catfish, bluegill and white bass are all popular with local fishing enthusiasts. Opportunities for access to shoreline for fishing from the bank are available, but limited.

Primary fish species to catch

Click images for fishing tips and details about each species.

Today's Weather & Forecast

Public Boat Launch Ramps & Landings

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Fishing License

Click here for a Illinois Fishing License.

Map - Fishing & Access

Rick Seaman is a fishing enthusiast with over five decades of fishing experience, a retired tournament fisherman, author of numerous published articles on fishing, and co-author of the book "Bass Fishing - It's not WHAT you throw, It's WHERE you throw it".