Lee Keck

While it might seem like summer has just arrived to Illinois big three Corps of Engineer reservoirs, it’s already me to star gearing up for fall. In fact, water temperatures at Lake Shelbyville will soon drop to the low 80s and the lower reaches of the lake will become very clear. Crappie...

While it might seem like summer has just arrived to Illinois big three Corps of Engineer reservoirs, it’s already me to star gearing up for fall. In fact, water temperatures at Lake Shelbyville will soon drop to the low 80s and the lower reaches of the lake will become very clear. Crappie...

Sporting a broad smile on his face, my long-time dove hunting companion Mark Hubbard trotted across the parched sunflower field to retrieve his hard-earned prize. Though it was his first dove of the season, it had not come with the first shot from his 20 gauge over-and-under. In fact, th...

Most catfish anglers prefer to keep things simple when pursuing their favorite fish. A fancy boat or expensive gear is not needed when pursuing the main ingredient for a fish fry. All that's really required is a bit of patience, a supply of bait and a good recipe for hush puppies....

Although it's been a long time in coming, anglers are now finally enjoying excellent success at each of Illinois' three big Corps of Engineer reservoirs. Though water levels remain high at each location, reports from these lakes indicate fishing action has greatly improved for a variety of species.While...

Few, if any, Illinois waters can boast the diverse aquatic habitat found along the Illinois River. Along with the actual river and its navigational pools, the Illinois River watershed includes tailwater habitat, lakes, sloughs and numerous smaller tributary streams. Totaling nearly 87,000 surface...

Catfish on the rocks might sound a bit like some sort of Cajun cocktail, but for anglers It's catfish spawning time at Carlyle and other lakes throughout the state. Anglers here know these fish move to the waters along the rip-rap shorelines to spawn. Most years, this creates something of a catfish...

To say the catfish bite at our Corps of Engineer reservoirs is hot may even be something of an understatement. Boat anglers, as well as those fishing the shoreline, are enjoying excellent success at all three locations. You see, it's catfish spawning time at Carlyle, Rend and Shelbyville lakes....

As more of the state lakes open after the virus pandemic, the month of May typically brings exciting panfish action to many downstate Illinois waters. However, cooler than normal temperatures and an abundance of rainfall has delayed much of the better action until now. Recent reports indicate that...

Among many of Illinois varied angling fans, fishing for catfish is considered something of a lazy-man's sport. These poor misguided anglers think catching these fish merely means loafing along some stretch of shoreline and waiting for a hungry catfish to swallow some sort of very smelly bait. They...