Sit it outno crappie window clears the bar in 36 hours
Each float is an hour. The deeper it rides, the better the bite. The strip underneath runs daylight, dusk and dark; the red rule marks the best window. Click any hour to read it.
Right now
Crappie range 50–80°
From the north-northwest
Sunset 4:51 pm
No rain expected
NWS hourly forecast
Measured, last 3 hours
Waning crescent
Each species is scored against its own water-temperature range and tide preference, then wind, weather and warnings. The rules are Illinois regulations for these waters.
No water reading here right now. Crappie bite in 50–80° water, best near 65°.
Sharp 3-hour fall — fish feed hard ahead of a front. Holds 3–20 ft down.
Open. Keep fish within the limits. 25 crappie a day, no more than 10 of them 10" or longer.
Verified Oct 23, 2026 · Rend Lake
Last checked 15 days ago. Rules may have changed.
Season here: Mar–May, Oct–Nov, estimated from local air temperature, 2023–2025; there is no water gauge here. More on crappie
No water reading here right now. Largemouth bass bite in 55–85° water, best near 72°.
Sharp 3-hour fall — fish feed hard ahead of a front. Holds 3–25 ft down.
Open. Keep fish within the limits. 14" minimum for largemouth and smallmouth; 6 a day.
Verified Oct 23, 2026 · Carlyle and Rend lakes
Last checked 15 days ago. Rules may have changed.
Season here: Mar–Nov, estimated from local air temperature, 2023–2025; there is no water gauge here. More on largemouth bass
No water reading here right now. Channel catfish bite in 60–85° water, best near 75°.
Sharp 3-hour fall — fish feed hard ahead of a front. Holds 5–30 ft down.
Open. Keep fish within the limits. Illinois: no statewide daily or size limit on blue, channel or flathead catfish; some waters set their own.
Verified Oct 23, 2026 · Illinois
Last checked 15 days ago. Rules may have changed.
Season here: Apr–Nov, estimated from local air temperature, 2023–2025; there is no water gauge here. More on channel catfish
No water reading here right now. White bass bite in 55–80° water, best near 68°.
Sharp 3-hour fall — fish feed hard ahead of a front. White bass is here Apr–Oct. Holds 4–30 ft down.
Open. Keep fish within the limits. 20 white, yellow, striped and hybrid bass a day, no more than 3 of them 17" or longer.
Verified Oct 23, 2026 · Rend Lake
Last checked 15 days ago. Rules may have changed.
Season here: Apr–Oct. More on white bass
No water reading here right now. Common carp bite in 52–86° water, best near 72°.
Sharp 3-hour fall — fish feed hard ahead of a front. Common carp is here Apr–Oct. Holds 1–15 ft down.
Open. Keep fish within the limits. Illinois sets no statewide harvest or size limit on common carp; the digest lists "Common Carp – no harvest limit." Bighead, silver, black and grass carp may not be possessed alive.
Verified Oct 18, 2026 · Illinois
Last checked 20 days ago. Rules may have changed.
Season here: Apr–Oct, estimated from local air temperature, 2023–2025; there is no water gauge here. More on common carp
Solunar tables are a popular heuristic. A peer-reviewed test found they don’t predict catch on their own, so here they only nudge the score when the tide or moon already agree. How the score works
We only show reports an agency has published, with their date. Illinois DNR has the state’s fishing pages.
Licenses and rules: Illinois DNR · fish-consumption advisories
A shallow, fertile 18,900-acre reservoir in southern Illinois famous for its crappie — one of the best crappie lakes in the Midwest — plus largemouth bass, channel and blue catfish, and white bass. Flooded timber and brush piles concentrate the fish; Corps ramps give wide public access.
Rend Lake: bass 14" minimum, 6/day; crappie 25/day (no more than 10 over 10").
The closest public spots we cover, with the same 36 hours of floats.
Yes (anglers age 16 and older). To fish at Rend Lake you need the appropriate state fishing license. See the agency's current rules: the state agency website
Rend Lake is listed on this site for 5 commonly-targeted species: Crappie, Largemouth Bass, Channel Catfish, White Bass, and 1 more. Which species is currently in season and which is scoring highest today is shown in the per-species ranking on this page.
It depends more on the species and the day's conditions than on a fixed "best hour." Water temperature, weather, and — at tidal locations — the stage of the tide drive activity most. The per-species ranking on this page scores every target species at Rend Lake against today's live conditions, so the fish near the top are your best bets right now; check back as conditions change through the day.
Rend Lake has multiple access types — pier, shoreline, and at least one public boat ramp. Rend Lake: bass 14" minimum, 6/day; crappie 25/day (no more than 10 over 10").
state agency regulations apply at Rend Lake. Size limits, creel limits, and seasonal closures are listed per species on each species page. Always confirm against the agency source linked from each regulation block — emergency closures can take effect mid-season.
No. Rend Lake is non-tidal — water level varies with rainfall, seasonal flow, and (where applicable) upstream dam releases rather than tidal exchange.
Press / anywhere to search. Towns list the closest spots.
