The Missouri spots folks shared were so good, I thought I’d ask about southern Illinois…
Any Cypress Tree lakes to fish there? Any Largemouth Bass havens that would be good Spring trips? Is the Mighty Miss any good down there? Thoughts?
This website continues to prove itself as top notch… You guys are good… 
REEL GUY,
THE WIFE AND I HAVE BEEN TO REND LAKE A 1/3 DOZEN TIMES OR SO. IT IS A GOOD SIZED IMPOUNDMENT WITH ALOT OF YOUR TYPICAL RESEVOIR (SP) FISHING. LOTS OF STRUCTURE. UNDERWATER FENCE ROWS, HOLE CREEK ARMS AND THE NORTHERN END HAS LOTS OF STANDING TIMBER. IF YOU LIKE COOLING LAKES, LAE OF EGYPT IS CLOSE BY. IT HAS A LOT OF DOCKS AND GRASS PLUS THE FACT IT’S ALWAYS WARM. YOU CAN FIND A HOT SPOTS MAP OF REND REAL EASY. LET ME KNOW IF YOU GO AND I WILL TRY TO HELP. ALTHOUGH, I ALWAYS GO IN THE FALL. I HAVE CAUGHT SOME DANDY’S THOUGH.
TBASS
I grew up in Southern Ill. and if you want the old cypress filled lake head down to Horseshoe. We never fished it much for bass but the people that fished for bass had stories of big ones. We use to fish it for bluegills and pounders were common. Unfortunately my report is from about 1972 so things surely have changed. To age myself I rabbit hunted the land that is now Rend Lake. They bought up all the land and it sat empty for a couple of years and when they started filling the lake there were rabbits everywhere. Lake of Eygpt is good and so is Devils Kitchen but it had a motor limit of 10 hp last time I was there. Crab Orchard is an old lake with good cover that use to give up good bass too. Been a long time since I thought of that area. Thanks for the memories.
im from west central illinois i fish the river on pools 18 and 19 alot in the spring pool 13 is the best i have herd of alot of 16 to 18 lb stringers from april till june if not later very comon for 14 lbs to win up there all year
as far as lakes in illinois in the spring try taylorville lake not alot of structure i havent seen any cypress trees in my 2 trips but last year in april a 15 boat tournoment 6 fish limits one limit was 22 lbs my limit was 21.70 big fish was 5.40 the kicker was the boat with 22 lbs said they proabally caught 60 keepers a piece i watched 2.5 to 3lbers proabally 3 limits worth get culleed out of there boat
they have i believe thursday night tournoments on the lake and it took over 20 lbs to win it the night before we were there and they had 4 boats over 15 lbs
2 years ago it had a 9 lber caught from the lake
also lake jacksonville is with in an hour and a half of there we got there weather was bad but alot of fish were caught but the big fish had moved off the beds in mid may
clinton lake in clinton illinois can have its moments to our club record came from there in may of 99 6 fish 26 lbs but the power plant was shut off then now its running again
I dontknow too much about southern Ill. but if you cross over into Kentucky ,Kentucky lake and Barkly are right there. I was there in March and the crank/rouge bite was good . It can be hazardous running in some areas at winter pool but the bait shops can direct you to some good spots if you support them. Lots of fish in the canal between the lakes and on rocky points. Did I post this last time ? Oh well we had a great trip and a personal best smallie 
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