Shelbyville Lake
50 incher
State Park and Muskie Status Report Info
The following is an excerpt from the IL State Parks website:
Lake Shelbyville is a US Army Corps of Engineers facility, built as part of a general comprehensive plan for the development of the Kaskaskia Basin for flood control, recreation, water supply, and fish and wildlife conservation. The 11,000-acre lake and its surrounding uplands form a scenic background for a variety of outdoor recreational activities.
At normal pool, Lake Shelbyville averages 16 feet in depth, with a maximum depth of 67 feet. Islands, coves, peninsulas and inlets create 250 miles of picturesque, wooded shoreline. It extends nearly 17 miles from the dam at Shelbyville to its limits above Sullivan and Bethany. Development of the shoreline has been intentionally kept to a minimum, allowing uninterrupted views of the lake's natural features throughout its length.
Located along the Kaskaskia and West Okaw Rivers near Sullivan, the Lake Shelbyville Fish and Wildlife Management Area offers some of the best hunting, river fishing and nature study opportunities in the state. The two areas contain over 6000 acres of mixed habitats including forests, prairies, restored grasslands, old fields, brush, wetlands, rivers, streams, and cropland. All are situated in the upper reaches of the 34,000-acre Lake Shelbyville project area.
The following is an excerpt from the IL DNR's
"STATUS OF MUSKIE FISHERY IN ILLINOIS 2004"
LAKE SHELBYVILLE - Located in Shelby and Moultrie Counties in east-central Illinois. This lake has a surface area of 11,100 acres, with a maximum depth of 67 feet, and an average depth of 18.9 feet. Public boat launching facilities are available, with a fee assessed on U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (217-774-3951) boat ramps, and free access on state park or Corp gravel boat ramps. A 48" length - 1 fish daily creel limit will remain in effect. The limit is in effect in the headwaters up to the Corps of Engineers project boundary and extends below the dam, downstream to the State Route 128 bridge near Cowden.
Pure muskellunge were first stocked in Lake Shelbyville in 1978. It wasn't until 1988, however, that somewhat consistent year-to-year stockings of 5,500 fingerlings per year were begun. In recent years this lake has developed into an outstanding muskie fishery. In fall 2002 the Professional Muskie Tournament Trail set a record for any previous tournament for the catch rate per fisherman and in the spring 2003 the total number of fish caught in a tournament (later broken on the Madison Chain of Lakes)! This attest to the increased quality of this fishery! Several fish are reported each year exceeding 50 inches. Muskie fishing prospects are rated as excellent!
Four major muskie tournaments were held on Lake Shelbyville in 2003. The catch was distributed in each as 49 fish (PMTT, 109 teams), 2 fish (IMTT, 17 teams), 26 fish (Director’s Tournament, 65 boats), and 6 fish (IMTT, 11 teams). The largest fish of each tournament were 46.5", 38.5", 45.5", and 40.5", respectively. Twenty of the fish caught in the Director’s Muskie Tournament were caught on Sunday, which was the short day.
A 53" muskie was caught and released from Lake Shelbyville in late fall 2003.
Shelbyville Lake Fishing Report
April 2006
Shelbyville was awesome! I was down there from April 17th-23rd. I expected to see the water brown and flooded due to recent storms and was nicely surprised to find it was fairly clear. Water temps started out at about 60 and rose to about 63, thanks to some warm sunny weather. We concentrated our efforts in shad filled coves and were fairly successful as we had 15 hook ups and landed 11 muskies that measured 32”-44”. I am going to go back there again the week of *May 15th-21st.!! *Dates are still available if you’re interested in checking it out…
