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Clinton Lake Fishing Report

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

Central Illinois’ warm-water lake: Clinton runs heated year-round and grows hybrid stripers and bass.

3/5
Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
Water temp
~84 F est.
Air / High
96 / 96 F
Wind
SSW 7 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.

3/5Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.

Clinton Lake stays in its summer rhythm: early magic, midday siesta, evening reprieve. Today brings a mixed sky, wind SSW around 7 mph, steady pressure near 1013 hPa and a high of 96. 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

Hybrid striped bassGood

Schooling at first light over main-lake humps and channel edges. Slabs, tail spinners and live shad once you mark bait. It is usually over by mid-morning.

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.

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 96 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 temp96 F
High / Low96 / 74 F
WindSSW 7-8 mph
Pressure1012.6 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain39% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset06:25 / 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 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Overcast, 96/74 F, wind 9 mph, rain 1%

Fair or better. A 9 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Clinton 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.

Hybrid striped bass illustration

Hybrid striped bass

Best: Jun-Sep

Stocked white bass x striper cross. Open-water shad chasers; birds and busting bait give them away. Schooling at first light over main-lake humps and channel edges. Slabs, tail spinners and live shad once you mark bait. It is usually over by mid-morning.

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.

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.

When to come: the Clinton 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
Hybrid striped bass
Catfish (blue, channel)
Crappie
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 Clinton Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Hybrid striped bass led the card at good. High of 96 F, wind to 10 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Hybrid striped bass led the card at good. High of 96 F, wind to 11 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Hybrid striped bass led the card at good. High of 96 F, wind to 11 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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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. Bass, hybrid striped bass and crappie limits per current IDNR regulations; restricted areas near the plant.

Access

Clinton Lake State Recreation Area ramps, camping and shoreline access.

About this water

A 4,900-acre power-plant cooling reservoir on Salt Creek, DeWitt County, Illinois.

Fishing Clinton Lake: the full guide

A power-plant lake

Clinton Lake covers about 4,900 acres on Salt Creek in central Illinois, built to cool the Clinton Power Station. The warm discharge keeps parts of the lake heated year-round, extending the growing season and changing the fishing calendar: bass spawn earlier, hybrid striped bass grow fast, and winter fishing continues in the warm-water arm when other Illinois lakes are frozen.

Hybrids and bass

Hybrid striped bass are the headline: stocked and thriving on the shad base, they school over the open water and near the discharge, providing hard-fighting action on slabs, swimbaits and topwater. Largemouth bass relate to the timber, riprap and weed edges, with the warm water pulling the spawn forward and extending the fall bite.

Crappie and catfish

Crappie stack the timber and brush, best in spring and fall. Channel and flathead catfish grow large in the fertile water. The warm-water discharge arm concentrates fish through the winter, creating one of the few reliable cold-season fisheries in central Illinois and drawing anglers from across the region in January and February.

DeWitt County logistics

Clinton Lake State Recreation Area provides ramps, camping and shoreline access, with additional access around the lake. Restrictions apply near the power plant intake and discharge: observe posted boundaries. Clinton and Bloomington are the nearby towns, with the lake about two hours from both Chicago and St. Louis.

Common questions

Why fish it in winter?

The warm-water discharge arm stays open and concentrates fish, giving central Illinois a reliable cold-season fishery.

What are the hybrids like?

Stocked and fast-growing on the shad base: the hardest-fighting fish in the lake, best located by surface activity.

Does the spawn come early?

Yes: the heated water pulls the bass spawn forward compared with other Illinois lakes.

Is fishing good at Clinton Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.

Nearby waters

Lake Shelbyville43 miLake Springfield53 miKankakee River90 miSugar Creek100 miCarlyle Lake104 miCagles Mill Lake109 mi
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