Lake Information for Rend Lake

Portion of the lake lying north of Route 154 is quite shallow. It provides some of the best fish habitat on Rend.

Areas of rip rap that lead to deep water also are found at the lake and one of the popular spots both for bank and boat fishermen is the Route 154 causeway. Rip rap areas also are found elsewhere at dam areas and in some places at recreation sites. Though largemouth bass, crappie, bluegills, channel catfish and white bass draw the most attention from fishermen.

White bass fishing usually begins in late March when the fish begin to congregate along the rock rip rap areas or begin moving into the small tributary streams to spawn. This usually occurs during the latter half of April. After egg laying, the white bass return to the lake and can be caught in May and early June from the shallow flats where they forage for insects and small fishes, particularly the first hatch of gizzard shad.

About mid-July, young shad school and range near the surface, drawing the white bass and setting the stage for some exciting fishing. Anglers simply cast spoons, jigs or spinners into the top-water frenzy. Best areas to fish for white bass have been the rock rip rap of Route 154, Interstate 57 and the dam, off the points of Marcum Branch, Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park and Sandusky Creek bay and around islands east of Rend Lake Marina.

Fishermen who enjoy catching bluegills and crappies disappear into the flooded timber areas around Nason Point and the upper arms of Casey Fork and the Big Muddy. Best bluegill action runs from May to mid-June during spawning time.

Bluegills build their nests in water two to five feet deep where there is hard mud or a sand bottom. Once these areas have been located, an offering of a cricket, roach, grub or redworm is enough to trigger action.

October and November are the best crappie months as this lake has one of the best fall crappie fisheries in the state. April, May and June are also good because the fish move to the shallows for spawning. They can be found in water from two to 12 feet deep most of the time and bunch up around stickups, brush and flooded timber. Minnows and small jigs are the most popular baits.

Crappies move to deeper water in summer, and many folks try lantern fishing to catch them. As darkness arrives, a gas lantern is tied about four feet above the water to a limb or a stout stickup or a boat mounted six-foot pole. As darkness sets in, the area illuminated by the lantern attracts bugs, then minnows and hopefully the crappies. And jumbo crappies swim there. In 1976, a bass fisherman caught a 4½-pound black crappie at Rend that turned out to be the state record.

Best largemouth action usually unfolds from early April to mid-June and again from early September to mid-October because the fish are moving toward the shallows where most people fish for them. They can be caught in the summer, however, off deep water bars and points. A variety of baits from the local buzzing "Lunker Lure" to plastic worms and deep diving plugs take bass.

Channel catfish go on the prowl when the lake's pool is on the rise. They are taken by both pole-and-line fishermen and those who use trotlines or jigs.

Stream channels or bay and shoreline spots where there are hard mud and sand bottoms provide good areas to offer a night-crawler, liver, leeches or any of the variety of baits used for these fish. Trotline or jug fishermen also probe flooded river and creek channels, shallow flats with three to 10 feet of water, shoreline margins and those bays with flooded standing timber and small tributary streams.

Big flathead catfish also dwell there and are occasionally caught. Carp and freshwater drum also are abundant, and bullheads also provide plenty of activity.

Walk-in bank fishing opportunities are found at the northern portion of the lake at the wildlife management areas. The spillway and auxiliary channel below the dam also provides a fishery for bank anglers looking for white bass, hybrid striped bass, and crappie.

Crappies, bullheads, carp, drum, bluegills and channel catfish are the species most frequently caught behind the dam. But occasionally one might hook into a big flathead, white bass, largemouth, sauger or an ocean "striper."