Fish Report

The river crested at 20.68 feet and 18,700 cfs at Kerby on Wednesday morning. The river should be dropping all week and be fishable by late Friday, with best conditions Saturday and Sunday. Good tactics on the Illinois include side drifting yarn balls or corkies/yarn with some scent, or fishing a jig under a bobber. Some anglers also throw spoons and spinners in nice long runs or into an eddy. Only artificial flies and lures are allowed. Soft beads and plastic worms are considered bait.

Wild steelhead may be harvested if they are over 24 inches long and caught between Klondike Creek and Fall Creek, or from 400 feet above Illinois Falls to Pomeroy Dam. Only 1 may be kept per day and 3 per calendar year, zone-wide. Additionally, it’s illegal to fish 200 feet below the fishway at Pomeroy Dam. The river and tributaries above Pomeroy are always closed to fishing.

There is good public bank access along 8 Dollar Rd. just north of Kerby, and Illinois River Rd. outside of Selma, all the way downstream to Miami Bar. Most anglers fish along the road, or choose to hike in at various trailheads along the river.

Check the USGS Kerby guage which provides up to date river flow information. Flows about 2500-1000 are pretty ideal conditions especially with a dropping river. Being relatively quick to clear, small natural looking presentations are key here as the river drops.