Lake Shelbyville is one of the largest inland lakes in Illinois and considered to be the top Largemouth Bass fishing lake in the state. Lake Shelbyville is home to countless catch-&-release fishing tournaments, which attract both amateur fisherpersons and bass fishing professionals alike. The lake is open to everyone who wants to enjoy the 40 miles of waterways and find little bays and weed beds where huge Largemouth Bass are available. Bass numbers are also very high and easy to catch.

Lake Shelbyville has no cottages or resorts on its shores. Robin Hood Woods is only 2.5 miles from Shelbyville Lake and its multiple boat-launches.

Lake Shelbyville Largemouth Bass Fishing Report

Largemouth Bass - excellent - Recent large floods and a few well-timed smaller flood pulses have resulted in excellent natural recruitment of largemouth bass. It appears that strong year classes have been or will be recruited to the lake from spawns in nine of the last ten years! Recruitment of the 2010 year class of bass appears to be potentially good, especially in the middle and lower parts of the lake. The strong year classes produced should sustain this fishery for many years.

This lake has become a very popular tournament destination due to the high quality of the fishery. Fishermen catch rates in the last five years were much improved over 2004 and 2005. Fishermen reported catching good numbers of bass both below and above the size limit through the 2010 season. Unlike 2008, the high water levels in 2009 and 2010 had little impact on catch rates for most gamefish species in the lake.

The three greatest single day tournament total weights were 570, 636, and 712 lbs, which is similar to 2009. Average weight of bass weighed into the larger tournaments ranged from 1.9 to 2.5 lbs. The largest bass weighed into the larger tournaments ranged from 5.3 to 6.6 lbs. The lake record bass was caught in a tournament by Chuck Ditto in April 2009, which weighed 8.55 lbs.

The number of bass, age 1+ and older, collected in the 2010 fall survey (49/hr.) was well below the 2009 average (80/hr.), but above the 2006, 2007, and 2008 survey results (24, 31, 22/hr). Collection rates were similar throughout the lake. The largest bass collected during the 2010 fall survey was 20 inches and weighed 4.2 lbs. The largemouth bass fishing prospects for 2011 remain good to excellent for numbers and good to excellent for size.