Location:
Entrance off Northwest Highway (Rt. 14) just north of Rt. 53 from
Twin Lakes Drive. Address is 1200 Twin Lakes Drive, Palatine, IL
60074. Phone number is 847-934-6050
Bait
Shops: Ed Shirley Sports in Palatine (1272 E. Dundee)
Known
Species: White crappie, yellow bass, carp, bluegill, largemouth
bass, channel catfish, smallmouth bass, tiger muskie, northern pike,
yellow perch.
Jay's
General Comments: The Twin Lakes Recreation Area is a wonderful
place to visit and fish. The important thing to know is that is
there is a charge to fish this lake. In my opinion, it is affordable
and well worth it. The lake and shoreline are kept very clean, there
are many amenities, and the lake is regularly stocked. The fees
are as follows: Daily:
$3.00 Resident family (4 members or more)
$1.00 Resident adult (12 and under free)
$1.00 Non-resident youth (12 and under)
$2.50 Non-resident adult (13 or older)
$5.00 Non-resident family (4 members or more)
Season Pass:
$10.00 Resident (family)
$20.00 Non-resident (family of 4 or less)
I
picked up the non-resident season pass and look forward to it being
well worth it by season's end.
Note...
Twin Lakes and Donut lake are facilities of the Salt Creek Rural
District and a "resident" is a resident of the Park District.
The
fishing lake is Donut Lake. It is aprox. 80 acres with a small round
island just off the center of the lake. The entire shoreline basically
cement with grass and the park right behind it. There are a few
piers and the majority of the water can be reached from shore, especially
with some good long casts and a heavy bait. Boat rentals are also
available. From everything I hear, this is a fine lake to fish.
With a variety of species available, it offers something for everyone.
A small lake like this stocked with bass, catfish, and the occasional
northern pike or muskie... come on, not a bad deal for a couple
of bucks! Also... an Illinois fishing license in NOT required. Ice
fishing is also allowed when conditions permit.
The
Twin Lakes Recreation area has all sorts of other activities as
well including a playground, golf course and more. For more information
on these activities, visit their web site at www.saltcreekpd.com
Bottom
Line: I'm really looking forward to fishing this lake.
And it certainly contains ample fun for the whole family with all
the other activities available. It reminds me of a cross between
Lake Arlington and Independence Grove. Don't let the fee scare you
away. It's worth it. The Fisherman's Dude Ranch this is not. A nice
clean lake with good fishing and a lot of fun it is. There is plenty
of parking, concessions, bathrooms, playground, golf course, and
boat rentals
2005
Twin Lakes (Palatine, IL) Fishing Reports:
Fishing
Report: 6/18/05 - Will Stott
Fished from 12:00 - 7:30 PM, tossed Shiners and Suckers. Caught
one 14” bass on a sucker and had three more strikes but overall
it was a bad day for fishing. Temps in the mid 70’s, SW breeze,
with clear skies.
Fishing
report 6/8/05-6/14/05 -- Will Stott Temps have been in the high 80’s to low 90’s.
Cats are hitting about 4 feet of the rock wall about 30 feet from
the pier on shiners and suckers. Time of day doesn’t seem
to matter nor does weather, they are just hitting anything that
moves, in the 3 hours I targeted them I caught 8 from 18-26 inches.
Bass are no where to be found this week, I have only seen one caught
and was around 14 inches. Gill’s are nesting on all shorelines.
Yellow bass have moved back out and are done spawning. Carp have
been seen in large number along the north shore line. I landed on
off the main parking lot 26” 9 lbs. Carp are not allowed to
be released back into the waters.
Report:
June 3, 2005 -- Will Stott
Fished from 12-7PM weather was in the high 70’s with no wind.
All action was off the pier fishing toward the rock wall with shiners
and suckers. Picked up 4 bass from 13-17” and had two long
fights that’s snagged on the bottom, most likely cats.
Fishing
report 5/28/05 -- Will Stott
Fished from 7-9 AM and from 12-6 PM. The only action for me was
on the pier by the rock wall around 8:30 AM, caught 5 bass from
14-19 inches around that time on shiners. The rest of the day was
a dud. Temps in the 70’s very bright with a few clouds. Found
out that 500 lbs of catfish where stocked 5/27/05. Spent some time
hunting for muskies, an angler that I was fishing with had a follow
on a purple spinner but couldn’t draw the bite. Yellow bass
can still be seen roaming the shoreline by the parking lot.
Report:
May 28, 2005 -- Rich Murray
Went to Twin Lakes this morning.Managed 2 small bass (maybe 8-9
in.). However, I was talking to a guy named Kevin who was fishing
off the pier by the rock wall. He had one line out with a crawler
- straight off the rock wall-side of the pier, parallel to the wall,
and was casting for pike with his other rod. While we were talking,
he caught a real nice channel cat on his crawler line. We didn't
measure it, but it looked to be maybe 20-24 inches.
Fishing
report 5/15/05-5/22/05 -- Will Stott
Weather over the past week has been 60-80 and we had a few storms
come though. Nothing seemed to make the fishing any better or any
worse, its just been plain slow. Larger bass have moved deeper and
are about 10 feet deep and not very hungry. Less that 1 quality
bass per 2 hours of fishing. Yellow bass however are in full spawn
along the shore line and can easily be taken with a large fathead.
If you keeping fish this time of year, please release the ones that
are full of eggs. Also, the lake rules regarding Large and Smallmouth
Bass are: CATCH AND RELEASE ONLY UNTIL JUNE 20th, AFTER JUNE 20th,
ONE FISH OVER 15 INCHES PER DAY. Please stop harvesting 10 inch
bass. Just because you caught it doesn’t mean you get to kill
it!!!! I also found out that Twin Lakes manegment is stocking large
shiners which may be part of the reason of the decline of quality
fish, because they are full.
Report:
May 9, 2005 -- Will Stott
Fished from 10am-Noon. Temp was around 70 with heavy clouds at times
and bright sun at others. Wind was gusty to clam. Pulled out two
13”s on large shiners early then not even a nibble. Also tossed
some wax worms to no avail.
Report:
May 2, 2005 -- Will Stott
Today was chilly and windy, temp was 40 with 10 MPH winds from the
west and very overcast. I fished from 4-7 PM at the usual spot using
the usual bait. Caught a 17”, two 14”s, and two 12”
bass. Had a few line snaps that I’m blaming on the cold. Also
heard a report from the Salmon Shop that a windycityfishing.com
reader caught a nice sized musky that threw the hook as it got to
shore. I believe it was caught on a crank bait and was 30+ inches
but not 100% sure.
Report:
April 30, 2005 -- Jason W. Norris Good
day? Bad day? A little of both. My cousin and I workd the lake from
10:30am to 1:30pm. We mainly used fathead minnows and medium roach
minnows. Rich caught 3 decent bass - 15", 15", 16".
Myself... no fish. But it was just one of those days. It was partly
cloudy with strong northwest wind gusting to 25mph. Temps were in
the upper 40's/lower 50's. Fish were caught from both sides of the
rock wall. See report below for as well.
Report:
April 30, 2005 -- Will Stott What a difference a day makes! It all started at the bait
shop, added 12 jumbo fatheads and 3 jumbo suckers to the usual medium
sucker and large shiner order. I walked to the usual pier and a
tiger muskie was sitting about 4 feet deep next to the pier. I scrambled
to get some fish in the water, first one I grabbed was a shiner,
dropped em in and BAM, a 12” bass =(, tossed a medium sucker
at the tiger and spooked him, but he looked real good swimming away.
Winds where a big issue today early on, blew my free lines and bobber
all over the place where I didn’t want them. So I went to
the other side of the pier with a jumbo sucker on a 4/0 hook on
a bobber and free lined the shiner and medium suckers. Got a few
14” bass before it got fun. Around 5:00 the winds died a bit
and just about then a tiger muskie hit on the jumbo sucker, measured
24”. About 30 mins later got another tiger on a medium shiner
that snapped me as I was landing him. 15 years at the same lake
without a tiger caught then 2 in 30 mins! Yes I know that they where
small but it was still fun. Moved to the parking lot side of the
rock wall and found about a dozen bass 12-17 inches hanging out
about 5 feet out behind the cement posts. Also caught an 11”
yellow bass. All and all a great fishing day. Fished from 2-9 PM
temp was low 50’s with winds from the west and south.
April
28-29 2005 -- Will Stott
Temps in the mid 50’s, mostly couldy. Fished the rock wall
with the usual bait. Caught the usual 12-16” bass. About 5
each day.
Report:
April 26, 2005 -- Will Stott
Same everything as yesterday plus an 18” bass and a super
fun super fighter 24” channel cat on the last cast of the
night.
Report:
April 25, 2005 -- Will Stott Fished
the rock wall from 5-9 PM, temp in the low 60’s, 15-25 mph
winds from the west (strongest after dark). Used large shiners and
small suckers on #2 wide gap hooks. Caught a 16”, two 14”s,
and about 5 at 12” or less. The wind really made the fishing
difficult after dark but still landed a few small bass. Suckers
where more effective in the high wind because they where strong
enough to pull themselves down into the deeper waters. Some website
designer stopped by and did some fishing with no luck
(but he was very cool and didn't want us to feel bad by catching
fish so he let us do all the catching... what a great guy!)
Didn’t see any other anglers catch a fish but I wasn’t
really watching.
Report:
April 20, 2005 -- Will Stott Fished from 5-8 PM at the usual pier by the rock wall.
It was overcast and 50 with a strong wind from the north. Used large
shiners on #2 salmon hooks. Caught an 8”, 12”, and 14”
bass. Missed several fish that never made it close enough to see.
I just couldn’t seem to set a hook toady.
Report:
April 19, 2005 -- Will Stott
Fished the pier towards the rocks again on large shiners on #2 hooks.
First cast resulted in a 16” bass, a few later produced a
20” 6 pounder, and about 30 minutes later a 13” bass.
Started fishing at 6:15 until 7:30. Clouds where getting thick as
the low pressure front was heading in. Strong winds from the S to
SW made casting very difficult. Temps around low 80’s.
Report:
April 18, 2005 -- Will Stott
Fished from 8:30 AM – 8:45 PM with a 2 hour break around 2
PM. Lost lots of minnow on snags. Used medium and large shiners
on #2 hooks and large suckers on #1 hooks, on and off a large bobber.
Shiners where ok early and late in the day, suckers got a few strikes
but I couldn’t get a hook set some of the hits where bass
getting a mouthful. Best hits on suckers where after sunset, had
one strip out some line then let go, never saw the fish though.
Ended up being a pretty slow day, two 16”, three 14”,
and two 12” bass. Met a guy who said he caught a 32”
pike at the same spot I had the near miss; he said he caught it
on a medium shiner the day after I missed it. The bass are fighting
harder every day and growing in girth.
Report:
April 16, 2005 -- Jason W. Norris
My first question is... why the heck didn't I print out Will's reports
below!? We arrived at noon and fished the entire lake for a couple
of hours. And the one spot we didn't work... the spot Will has caught
all these fish at as reported below! Anyways... we were skunked
using a variety of small jigging spoons, spinners, jigs, and crank
baits. However, the sun was brutal and not much cover on the lake
yet. I'll bet the afternoon/evening would have been much better.
But basically this was a visit to see the lake and gather information
for this page so a successful outing it was. Temps were around 70,
winds southeast 5-15 mph, and it was mostly sunny.
Report:
April 15, 2005 -- Will Stott
Once again fished the rock wall off the pier, same minnows, and
presentations. Caught two 14” and two 16” bass along
the rock wall as well as had a 30 some inch northern or tiger follow
my shiner to the pier, IT WAS HEART BREAKING!!!!!!!!!! Spent an
hour trying to locate that fish again but gave up and went to the
pier by the playground and had an 18”ish bass snap my line.
I can tell you that the bass are now fighting much hard over the
past two days, it’s great! Nightcrawlers produced nothing,
panfish are still non-existent here. Temp was 65-70, clear skies,
steady wind from the north. Algae is starting to bloom in some parts
of the lake.
Report:
April 14, 2005 -- Will Stott
Once again I fished off the pier towards the rock wall with medium
shiners on #4 short shank hooks, and large fatheads on #6 short
shank hooks. Used the usual hook and minnow only with a SLOW jig
retrieval. 6:15 PM – 7:45 PM got 1 16” bass and 3 14”s
as well as a 7” bluegill somehow Weather was cloud free in
the low 60’s dropping around sunset to 50 with a steady 10
mph wind from the NW, sure wish I had on more than a short sleeve
shirt! Jason’s forecast was dead on, bass where feeding just
after I jigged the minnow or even picking them up off the bottom.
Looks like the bluegills are starting to work their way towards
the shallows slowly but are still deeper than normal.
Report:
April 10, 2005 -- Will Stott
Well today was no yesterday…. But then again I wasn’t
there at sunset. Fished off the pier again toward the rock wall,
used medium shiners and large fatheads, no weights or bobbers as
the water is very clear right now. Caught 3 bass 13-17 inches. They
are starting to show increased girth for the spring spawn. Saw about
10 other anglers that where unsuccessful as far as I could see,
they seemed to be targeting panfish. The water still feels very
cold, this lake is very deep and takes time to warm up. Fished from
1-4 PM, weather was partly cloudy, 70-75 with a steady 10-15 mph
wind from the NW ( at my back where I like it). Looks like this
year the common bass is 14-16 inches (2-2.75 LBS), which means,
that after the spawn all food will go toward growth, by fall expect
the commons to be 16- 18 (2.75-3.5 LBS). That should make for one
of the best bass fishing years at twin lakes ever!
Report: April 9, 2005 -- Will Stott
Fished off the pier towards the rock wall with medium Shiners on
#4 short shank hooks, and medium Fatheads on #6 short shank hooks.
No weight or bobbers used, just cast em into the shallows and SLOWLY
gig back. 2 PM – 7:30 PM got 1 16” Bass and 2 14”s.
From 7:30 PM- 7:50 PM every cast resulted in either a snag or a
fish, 9 Bass from 13” – 16” and on my last cast
on my last minnow a 9.5” White Crappie. When fishing the rock
wall, be sure to bring extra hooks and bait, I know I will. Weather
was partly cloudy in the low 60’s dropping around sunset with
a steady 10 mph wind from the NW. Saw one other angler working artificials
with no success.
Report:
April 6, 2005 -- Will Stott
Fished from 1:30 until 2:45. Temp at 1:30 was 80, partly cloudy
with a steady wind from the SE. By 2:15 the breeze felt much colder
and the clouds became very dark. Caught a 16” Bass at the
Northwest pier on a Medium Shiner on a #4 hook, no sinker, no bobber.
It appears that the lake was recently stocked with 1.5” bluegills
as hundreds where seen under the pier I was fishing. Night crawlers
where ineffective today. No other anglers seen.
