SPRINGFIELD – The 2021 Illinois Spring Trout Fishing Season will open Saturday, April 3 at 57 ponds, lakes and streams throughout the state.

An early opportunity at select trout sites – the Spring Catch-and-Release Fishing Season – will open March 20. No trout may be kept during the catch and release fishing period, but anglers can keep trout after the opening of the regular season beginning April 3.

The Illinois Catchable Trout Program is funded by those who use the program through the sale of Inland Trout Stamps. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) stocks more than 80,000 rainbow trout each year in bodies of water where trout fishing is permitted during the spring season. An additional 80,000 trout will be stocked for the Fall Trout Fishing Season, which begins in October.

For the 2021 spring trout season, no trout may be taken from any of the stocked sites from March 15 until the season opens at 5 a.m. April 3. Anyone attempting to harvest trout before the legal harvest season opening will be issued citations.

All anglers – including those who intend to release fish caught before April 3 – must have a fishing license and an Inland Trout Stamp, unless they are under the age of 16, blind or disabled, or are an Illinois resident on leave from active duty in the Armed Forces. The daily catch limit for each angler is five trout.

For more information on trout seasons and other Illinois fishing opportunities, check the website at www.ifishillinois.org.

Illinois 2021 fishing licenses and Inland Trout Stamps are available now at IDNR license and permit locations, including many bait shops, sporting goods stores and other retail outlets. For a list of locations, check the IDNR website at www.dnr.illinois.gov.

Fishing licenses and trout stamps also can be purchased online. Find the link on the IDNR website at www.dnr.illinois.gov.

For information about all site regulations, anglers should contact individual sites that will be stocked with catchable-size trout. Not all sites open at 5 a.m. on opening day. Anglers are reminded to check the opening time of their favorite sites prior to the open date.

Among the locations that will be open for the spring trout season are:

• Hennepin Canal Parkway-Bureau County
• Big Lake, Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area (SFWA)-Kendall County
• Illinois and Michigan Canal Lock 14, LaSalle-LaSalle County
• Lake Mendota, City of Mendota-LaSalle County
• Pine Creek, White Pines Forest State Park**-Ogle County
• Centennial Park Pond, Rock Falls-Whiteside County

(** Denotes site open for Catch-and-Release Early Spring Season fishing)