Fishing East Fork Lake

AKA: East Fork Reservoir

Popular Fish Species
East Fork Lake Fishing Video
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East Fork Lake, IL

Popular Fish Species East Fork Lake, IL

Crappie Fishing

Crappie anglers will be happy to know they can fish for both black crappie and white crappie at East Fork Lake. These two species tend to school separately. However, once located around cover, you may catch both species, as they often use the same cover. For best results when fishing for crappie, light line and small hooks are key, especially when fishing live or prepared baits. Crappie jigs are also productive her in a wide variety of colors. East Fork Lake is a good place to catch good quantities of nice, fat slabs. Crappie fishing can be found in varying size schools, hanging around brush, vegetation, wood or other cover. Using a fish finder any time of year can help locate these crappie schools, which tend to stack vertically around cover. Live bait and small jigs are the most common method for crappie here. In spring and fall focus on the 8 to 12 foot range. As the crappie move deep in summer and winter, follow points out deep, as well as find ledges near channels, especially areas with brush or timber in deeper water. The best time to catch crappie tends to be at dawn and dusk.

Walleye Fishing

East Fork Lake is home to a hearty population of walleye. Good fisheries management by Illinois Department of Natural Resources and plenty of forage in the lake have them growing fat and healthy. Walleye have excellent vision in low light scenarios which helps them find food in deep or murky water. Make an effort to be on the water anytime there are low light conditions. During May and June is the optimal time to catch them, while feeding in shallower water. Other times of the year they are more likely to roam around in deeper water. Concentrate around structure like points, flats and ledges off the river channels. One of the proven methods for catching walleye here is trolling with spinners tipped with live bait, or trolling with long-billed, deep diving crankbaits. However casting live bait, jigs, worms and spoons also works well at times.

East Fork Lake Popular Fish - Largemouth Bass

Largemouth Bass Fishing

East Fork Lake is a popular bass tournament lake. Weekend and tournament anglers find the fishing to be slow at times, yet pretty good at other times. Fishing for bass can be quite rewarding, with an occasional bass over 4 pounds being caught. Largemouth bass often move shallow and become aggressive when they are in a feeding mood. Use shallow crankbaits around rip rap. Around grass, use worms, jigs, topwater and spinnerbaits. In deeper water, drop shot rigs, big worms, jigs and spoons are good options. In winter, spend your time fishing deeper structure where the bass spend much of their time.

East Fork Lake Fishing Video

Fish species to fish for...

Guide to fishing for largemouth bass, channel catfish, black crappie, white crappie, walleye, bluegill, green sunfish, redear sunfish and warmouth at East Fork Lake in Illinois.

Created as a reservoir for the City of Olney, East Fork Lake has become a popular fishing destination. It is a 934-acre lake in the southeast part of the state with 25 miles of shoreline to fish. East Fork Launch Ramp, Rotary Park and East Fork Lake Campground are located mid lake, on the north shore. The park and several other locations around the lake provide good access for fishing from the bank.

Primary fish species residing in East Fork Lake

Click images for fishing tips and details about each species.

East Fork Lake Amenities

Marina: NO
Boat Rental: NO
Boat Launch Ramp: YES
Campgrounds: YES
RV Hookups: YES
Lodging: YES
Convenience Store: NEARBY
Bait & Tackle: NEARBY
Restaurant: NEARBY

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Public Boat Launch Ramps & Landings

East Fork Launch Ramp
Located mid lake, on the north side of the lake, off E Kiwanis Road, this is a two-lane, concrete ramp with docks and gravel parking.