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Rend Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

A 1971 Corps lake on the Big Muddy, which IDNR rates excellent for channel catfish and good for crappie, white bass and flathead catfish.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
41 cfs
Air / High
74 / 74 F
Wind
ESE 6 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 05595952, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 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 the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Rend Lake sits in the sweet spot of the season: active fish and workable weather. The nearest gauge is running 41 cfs, falling. Today brings clear skies, wind ESE around 6 mph, steady pressure near 1023 hPa and a high of 74. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:31 AM-11:31 AM and 9:60 PM-11:60 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Striped bassExcellent

Use electronics to find shad schools in open water, and watch for birds working over bait.

Largemouth bassGood

The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

Hybrid striped bassFair

Look for shad on flats with timber near creek channels and on windblown points; cast jigs and swimbaits where fish break the surface.

CrappieFair

Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

White bassFair

Summer and early fall schooling season over open water; follow the shad, and try live bait on the bottom at night.

Tomorrow: Similar at 76 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Illinois requires a fishing licence, from $15.00 for residents. What a Illinois licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing largemouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with IDNR before you keep anything. The season dates for Illinois, read off the agency, are on the Illinois seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from BIG MUDDY RIVER BELOW REND LAKE NR BENTON, IL.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 05595952.

33384341 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp74 F
High / Low74 / 46 F
WindESE 6-7 mph
Pressure1022.6 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:12 / 18:07
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~74 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Rend Lake this week

The best day on Rend Lake this week looks like Monday Oct 26, at 5 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Monday, Oct 26 β€” excellent at 5/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:31 AM-11:31 AM and 9:60 PM-11:60 PM
Minor period
3:54 AM-4:54 AM
Sun
07:12 to 18:07
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 7 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

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

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Hybrid striped bass illustration

Hybrid striped bass

Best: the spring shad spawn and fall; summer at dawn and dusk

A hatchery cross of striped bass and white bass, also called wiper or palmetto bass, stocked by state agencies into reservoirs and rivers as a sport fish that also eats gizzard shad. Schools roam open water after shad. Look for shad on flats with timber near creek channels and on windblown points; cast jigs and swimbaits where fish break the surface.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall inland; on the coast, during the seasonal migrations

The largest of the temperate basses, a sea-run fish of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts that now also lives in reservoirs across much of the country after hatchery stocking. Inland, it follows schools of shad and herring through open water. Use electronics to find shad schools in open water, and watch for birds working over bait.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: the spring run up the tributaries, then summer surface schools

A silvery temperate bass of rivers and large reservoirs, also called sand bass, that schools in open water after shad and runs up tributaries to spawn in early spring. Summer and early fall schooling season over open water; follow the shad, and try live bait on the bottom at night.

When to come: the Rend 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
Striped bass
White bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 74 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 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 Rend Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 77 F, wind to 6 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 74 F, wind to 5 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 74 F, wind to 6 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

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 fishing license. IDNR site rules, verified today: largemouth and smallmouth 14-inch minimum, 6 a day; white, black or hybrid crappie 25 a day, no more than 10 of them 10 inches or longer; striped, white or hybrid striped bass 20 a day, no more than 3 of them 17 inches or longer. Jugs must be attended at all times.

Access

IDNR depth maps cover the Dam West, Gun Creek, Ina, Marcum, Nason, North Marina and Turnip Patch access areas; Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park is on the lake.

About this water

A Corps of Engineers reservoir on the Big Muddy River, Franklin and Jefferson counties, Illinois; 20,633 acres at the 405-foot normal pool (IDNR).

Fishing Rend Lake: the full guide

The second-largest impoundment in Illinois

The Corps of Engineers completed Rend Lake in 1971 with a 2-mile dam across the Big Muddy River floodplain. IDNR gives 20,633 acres at the 405-foot normal pool, a 35-foot maximum and 10-foot mean depth, 13 miles of length and 162 miles of shoreline; its iFish summary header lists 18,900 acres. The lake lies in Franklin and Jefferson counties along I-57, about 15 miles south of Mount Vernon.

Catfish and crappie

IDNR rates channel catfish excellent and expects plenty of 1- to 4-pound fish from strong natural reproduction. Crappie are rated good: in fall 2025 sampling 13% topped 10 inches and 1% topped 12, though white crappie, 68% of the catch, sized up better. Bluegill are abundant, with most keepers 7 to 8 inches.

Bass, white bass and hybrids

Largemouth are rated very good for 2026: 28% of the 2025 sample beat the 14-inch minimum and 5% topped 18 inches, and IDNR stocks them every year. White bass should run 10 to 15 inches. Hybrid stripers stay scarce despite stocking (31,408 fingerlings in 2025); IDNR suggests the spillway tailwater in spring.

Common questions

What are the crappie limits at Rend Lake?

Twenty-five a day, and no more than 10 of those may be 10 inches or longer (IDNR).

Is Rend Lake stocked?

IDNR stocks largemouth bass and hybrid striped bass every year when fish are available.

Where should I try for hybrids?

IDNR names the spillway tailwater below the dam in spring as one of the best places.

Is fishing good at Rend 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 the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Kinkaid Lake33 miCedar Lake37 miCarlyle Lake44 miMeramec River92 miLake Shelbyville101 miLake Barkley103 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 05595952 β€” BIG MUDDY RIVER BELOW REND LAKE NR BENTON, IL
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:30 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 38.1096, -88.9626 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 5, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 5, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.