Shelbyvile, IL

[Eric Haataja]

Talked to a buddy of mine who has been doing well on the Muskies and some nice eyes down in Shelbyville at the spillway/ dam.

I've fished here before and the fishing can be very good from shore all winter long, some times there a lot of muskie piled in up at or near the dam. I believe the state record came from here or the 2 previuos state records came from here something like that.

Swim baits can be very effective for the muskies along with live bait. twister work well for the walleyes and there are some big cats and crappies too. Blade baits caught some nice fish for me but they also snag fish.

Anyways it's a great place to open water fish for ski's all year, and you can fish from shore no need for a boat.

[Eric Haataja]

I got a call from a buddy of mine who fishing down at the spillway this past month and he has been doing very well most days fishing for muskies!

Swim baits have been working best for him both during the day and at night time. With this warm weather coming I'd bet thos fish would be on fire the next few weeks down there and I wish I could go and fish them but just too busy working!

It's a great place to catch big muskies now from shore the season in Illinois does not close for muskies.

[Justinm]

Heres a pic of a big cat from last year in shelbyville - we caught a lot of Muskies also :)

Justin

[Brian Mirek]

My wife's maid of honor lives an hour from there. Discussing making a trek down for her to visit with her friend, and I get to do some musky fishing. Eric, sorry for not getting back in touch with you last weekend, had some things going on, I'll give a ring this week.

[waugeye]

Holy cow. I was very surprised to see a thread on Shelbyville Muskie on this website. I consider the Kaskaskia my home water. I have fished the spillway for almost 15 years now, granted most of that time was as a stupid teenager snagging jigs in the rocks, and fishing blindly for fishing's sake only. I have since learned a few things about catching fish here. Here are a few tips for those of you wanting to catch a Kaskaskia Muskie:
1. You're going to have a bit tougher time in the next few years catching numbers of fish. We had a big kill off attributed to a bacterial gill disease two years ago. There were literally dozens and dozens of dead muskie choking up the river. There were some monsters that got wiped out. I found many 40+ inch fish skeletons washed up on rock bars up to a mile down river from the spillway. That's not to say there aren't still good numbers of Muskie left in the system, there just aren't as many as before.
2. Right now is the time the Muskie really start to bite. Earlier, you could coax one or two to bite, but most that were brought in came in tail first.
3. The Muskie on the Kaskaskia seem to like smaller baits. If you've thrown all of your big cowgirls and pounders and have worn your arm out to no avail, try switching to the small stuff. Break out the light jigging tackle. My fishing buddies and I tend to catch quite a few on light walleye gear. They really like 3" chart. twister tails. I have landed one this year just over 36". One friend of mine has two, with one at 47" and the other right at 40". Another guy I fish with has a fat 40". I tell you that when you hook a muskie on 6#-8# test line on light-med gear, these fish take you for a ride. And the water temp will be coming up, which means the Muskie are going to start taking to the air.
4. Dead of Summer can be awesome right up by the gates of the spillway. 6 fish and more nights are not uncommon. I talking July-August and 80 degree fishing at night. If the lake is holding at summer pool the Corps will trickle the flow from the spillway. Usually only one side is flowing about 100-300 CFS, and if you can get a boat up by the wire and cast directly into the side that's flowing you're going to catch something. I especially like getting my Kayak up there and battling with them. A 40"+ fish on light tackle from a Kayak is not for the feint of heart. I remember one fish pulling me upriver towards the face of the dam. I had to put the rod in between my legs and back paddle to pull him and myself out. They will also spin you in circles. And when youo get them up to the side of the Yak, they'll nearly drown you before you can get them off the hook. There's nothing more exciting around here than that.
5. Areas to concentrate on right now are from the Rt 16 Bridge up to the spillway. Either side can be good from shore. They really seam to be shore related right now. Flows on the river have been above average all year, and the water temps are still in the mid 30's.
6. The Muskie on the Kaskaskia have a curious nature about them. You will see them on occasion swim with their heads out of the water. The muskie guys swear that they are coming up and laughing at them. I have seen one doing this already this year, and as the water temps come up they'll start to do it more.
7. Be mindful of the local regulations. The Muskie have to be 48"+ to keep. There are fish in there that will break 50" I have seen them nearly half the length of my ten foot kayak, no joke. You can practically paddle right over the top of them before they spook.
8. Get out and fish. You can't catch them from the couch.

[Eric Haataja]

Thanks for the awesome detailed report!!!!!! Awesome!

[Eric Haataja]

This is the time for mid winter muskie action and this is a great spot to shore fish for them! I wish I had the time to go down there and fish for them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe one of these weekends I might make it down there.

Some nice walleye's and big cats as well!

[Justinm]

I think Jeannine and I are going to go down so she can catch her first musky. We are both dying to get out and open water fish. How long do you think we have to get down there? It may be a few weeks before our schedule clears up.

Justin

[Eric Haataja]

I know they catch them there all year long! I wish I could join ya!

Eric

[slob sticker]

There are some great lakes to fish all over central and southern Illinois. Most of em you can fish all year for several different species including blue cats, stripers, and hybrid stripers. We may try Shelbyville one of these days, would be fun to get a big musky. Illinois doesnt have many lakes with muskies but Shabbona and Fox Chain hold em. Either of those lakes are a pretty short drive from Wisconsin, especially compared to Shelbyville. We are headed down for some pig largies on Tuesday, will report what happends. Hey Justin is that you that has been chiming in on the Outdoor sportsman lodge thread. I saw a JustinM recently. If so we maybe we will see you down there sometime.

[waugeye]

Just to let everybody who is interested in fishing the spillway below the dam in Shelbyville know, the water is High and Wide and making for difficult fishing. The corps is dumping 4340 cubic feet of water per second from the lake in a mad dash to get the lake down to winter pool (the beaches and campgrounds have been mostly closed for two years now). For larger rivers this is not a signifigant flow, but for the Kaskaskia this is near record territory. The water is higher now than it has been in recent memory. The high water conditions and the current are posing problems right now for fishing, and thus fishing has been slow the last few weeks. At the rate they are dumping water and the amount left to go it looks like a few more weeks before things get settled down.

Mid winter has typically been good for both walleye and muskie. And there are still fish in the river to be caught. Just last weekend my buddy caught a 42" muskie, but that was the only fish I saw caught in 8 hours, and the only other fish I had seen in two weekends. The muskie in the river aren't going anywhere. We catch them year round when conditions are better. I'd suggest waiting it out a few weeks, and checking the streamflow conditions on the USGS site. When flows get down below 3000 cfs the river is much more fishable, and tends to be best between 900-1800 cfs.

If you can't wait a few weeks, if you're really itching, by all means come on down. You may luck into a good fish. I'd concentrate on areas near the bank and areas out of main current. Also watch the current, when she is this high the current tends to shift from bank to bank at times. The area around the handicap ramp has a large eddy that tends to hold a lot of slack water and has produced several muskie in winters past. Far and away the best spots for muskie have been the wings on either side, but those areas are very dangerous to fish right now and with the amount of current probably are not holding many if any fish.

Here are a few pics of some nice eyes and ski's caught just before the flows went mad.

P.S. The pic with me and the ski taken towards the end of last November, The water is now where my head is, just to give you a reference. And the water was high in that pic!!

[slob sticker]

Caught some decent bass on our fishing trip down to Illinois. Females were not showing their cards. Some males were aggressive in the shallows. Should get real good in about 3-4 weeks.

[Eric Haataja]

Thanks for the great report Waugeye! We greatly appreciate it! Nice fish! I caught some nice fish in that spot as well! It's a great place to come down and fish for a weekend open water fishing!

Eric

[waugeye]

I can usually be found on the river on the weekends chasing 'eyes. So if anybody on here is heading down to fish, and you see me out don't hesitate to say hello.