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Islandfisher

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I am planning on fishing Independence Grove during my spring break and was looking for information about the lake. There wasn't any info on the main page of WCF and this forum doesn't give a lot of info on the location itself. I thought that I would share the information that I learned while doing research.

The lake is located in a Lake County Forest Preserve north of Route 137, west of the Illinois Tollway (94) and east of Route 21. Below is a mapquest map if you are interested.

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.ad...e=degrees&latdeg=42&latmin=18&latsec=45&longdeg=-87&longmin=57&longsec=5&zoom=7

Parking is free for all Lake County residents. For those who don't live in Lake County parking is $5 Mon-Fri and $10 Sat, sun and holidays. There are boats available for rent over the summer and there is a boat launch located at the south end of the lake. However no gas motors are available. When I called the information center they said that fishing is allowed all year round as long as there is open water.

The Lake County Forest Preserve purchased the land in 1978. At the time the land was a used gravel quarry. The county spent a crap load of money reshaping the lake into a habitat suitable for game fish. The lake now contains a lot of manmade underwater structure and islands. Below is a link to a great colored depth map of the lake which is more detailed than the black and white which is also below.

http://www.lcfpd.org/docs/map_22023.pdf

Image


The lake contains musky, northern pike, black crappie, largemouth bass, channel catfish, walleye, bluegill and yellow perch and is said to stock its game fish every few years. Also, catch and release is mandatory on the lake.

This lake looks and sounds like it has some great fishing! I hope this info will help anyone who has never been there (like me). For those of you who have been there, any additional supplementary information would be appreciated.

P.S. I gathered my info from different websites. The Lake County Forest Preserve site had the most pertinent information that I could find. Google it for more info.
 
#2 ·
Sean, IG can be a good place to fish. I have had good days there and been skunked too. I believe that Phil caught that big bass in his avatar there last spring. I also heard of a 10# LMB caught there last year on a roach under a bobber from the fishing pier.

You probably won't be charged to get in that early in the season. The only problem that I see is the water temp that early and not being able to go out in a boat. I would definitely give it a try though.
 
#3 ·
Great job on getting the info. I learned some new things and I will find that map very helpful when planning ahead. IG is a great place to fish. I'd say about 2 out of every 5 times I've gone, there was no person at the gate. Even if you do pay, even $10 on the weekend, I do still think it is worth it. It's a great lake to explore and the big guys can be caught from shore, just as well as the boat guys would do. And yes, the bass in my signature is from IG last spring. I've heard stories of 9+ pound monsters coming out of there. I've also lost a few northerns there and I frequently see musky cruzing the shoreline. I love that place.
 
#4 ·
So where would I go if I have never been there? North side.... (when in doubt head south?) East? What's a good place to start?
 
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Discussion starter · #5 ·
I can't wait to get a trolling motor and get out on that lake!

The fish on the black and white map represent man-made cribs that were built and sunk in the lake. In the north east corner there is a sweet spot where two cribs were placed between two underwater islands that sit in 5 FOW. This great structure sits next to the largest basin on the lake which tops out at 50 FOW (according to the newest color map). I bet some big fish come out of the basin to chill and feed around that structure.

:( Spring break won't be here soon enough.
 
Discussion starter · #6 ·
BassCaster said:
So where would I go if I have never been there? North side.... (when in doubt head south?) East? What's a good place to start?
Click to expand...
There are so many spots to explore at this place. This place definitely has the potential to be one of my summer hangouts.
 
#7 ·
Explore. The fish are sometimes hard to find, especially in the spring. I'd stay away from the fishing docks, especially the first one who see when you drive in and the one with all the kids on it, by the restaurant. The water over there is all shallow, about 4 feet at it deepest. I'd look for cover and any places where the fish can hang out...fish cribs, logs, weeds (if any), etc. The deepest water isn't always the best. I seem to find most of my fish in less than 10 FOW. Keep in mind that the water is usually clear and you could see most fish. I think spring fishing relies on sight fishing if you want the bigger fish and that's the place to do it right. With the big bass I got, I spotted it and quickly casted right to it. It nailed my plastic worm and it was fish on after that. I'd also look back at my old reports at some info on what I was using. You'll also notice the all huge crappie that are there...if that's your thing.
 
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