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Cedar Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Carbondale's clear pocket: southern Illinois' bass-and-muskie bowl in the Shawnee hills, electric-quiet and finesse-honest.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Water temp
~84 F est.
Air / High
99 / 99 F
Wind
SSW 4 mph

Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Cedar Lake serves up more heat: the productive hours are the dim ones. Today brings clear skies, wind SSW around 4 mph, steady pressure near 1013 hPa and a high of 99. Water sits around 84 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Largemouth bassFair

Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

White bassFair

Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

CrappieSlow

Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Tomorrow: Similar at 101 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp99 F
High / Low99 / 76 F
WindSSW 4-5 mph
Pressure1013.3 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain6% cloud, 2%
Sunrise / Sunset06:30 / 19:22
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~84 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Partly cloudy, 99/76 F, wind 8 mph, rain 2%

Fair or better. A 8 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Cedar Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Good year-round

The most reliable bite on most southern waters. Blues run big; channels fill the cooler. Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: Mar-May run

River-run spawners and open-water schoolers. Fast limits when you find them. Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

When to come: the Cedar Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Crappie
Catfish (blue, channel)
White bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 84 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Cedar Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 99 F, wind to 7 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 98 F, wind to 8 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 97 F, wind to 8 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

Illinois requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Illinois license. Muskie 48-inch; bass 14-inch: check IDNR. Electric motors only.

Access

Cedar Lake city ramps (Poplar Camp, main), Shawnee trail bank access.

About this water

1,750 electric-only acres, Jackson County, IL. Carbondale's clear-water bowl.

Fishing Cedar Lake: the full guide

The Shawnee bowl

Cedar Lake pools 1,750 clear acres in the Shawnee National Forest's shadow south of Carbondale: electric-motors-only calm, standing timber in the arms, and a fishery leaning on clarity: largemouth that inspect baits, a muskie program with southern-Illinois teeth, and crappie stacked deep in the wood.

Finesse water

The clear water writes the rules: drop shots and Neds on the main-lake points, wacky rigs skipped under the shade lines, topwater in the low-light windows. Spring's spawning pockets sight-fish beautifully: summer pushes the quality to the 15-25-ft timber edges: electronics repay the drive.

Muskies and the deep wood

IDNR's muskie stockings prowl the timber lines (fish past 45 inches: figure-eight the point ends), and the crappie program rides the same structure: vertical jigs on the deep trees, spring's brush-line dips. Bluegill rafts and channel cats fill the family ledger.

Little Egypt practicalities

City ramps serve modest traffic (the electric rule filters crowds): SIU's proximity keeps a paddle culture healthy: and the Shawnee's trails wrap the shoreline for bank access beyond most reservoirs'. Southern Illinois' quiet quality: Kinkaid's louder fame sits 30 minutes west.

Common questions

Is Cedar Lake or Kinkaid better for muskie?

Kinkaid holds the size fame: Cedar trades a notch of trophy odds for solitude and clarity. Serious southern-Illinois muskie weeks fish both.

Why is Cedar Lake electric-only?

Water-supply protection: the rule keeps it calm, clear and kayak-perfect. The fishing adapted: finesse rules and quiet approaches win.

Is fishing good at Cedar Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Kinkaid Lake14 miRend Lake37 miCarlyle Lake73 miReelfoot Lake87 miLake Barkley91 miMeramec River94 mi
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