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Rend Lake Fishing Report

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

Southern Illinois' everything lake: crappie flats, hybrid schools and duck-country bass.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
37 cfs
Air / High
100 / 100 F
Wind
WSW 6 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 05595952, 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.

Rend Lake stays in its summer rhythm: early magic, midday siesta, evening reprieve. The river is running 37 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind WSW around 6 mph, steady pressure near 1013 hPa and a high of 100. 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 102 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 from BIG MUDDY RIVER BELOW REND LAKE NR BENTON, IL.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 05595952.

47658337 cfs08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp100 F
High / Low100 / 75 F
WindWSW 6-7 mph
Pressure1013.1 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset06:28 / 19:21
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 · Clear, 100/75 F, wind 7 mph, rain 1%

Slow. 100 F: be on the water at dawn and off by mid-morning, or fish after dark.

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: 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 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
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 Rend 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. Hybrid striped bass led the card at good. High of 100 F, wind to 9 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

1/5 Tough. Pick your battles. Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk. Hybrid striped bass led the card at fair. High of 99 F, wind to 13 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Hybrid striped bass led the card at good. High of 99 F, wind to 12 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

Crappie: 10-inch/20; confirm current IDNR structure. Hybrids 3/day.

Access

Rend Lake Resort, Sandusky, North Sandusky, Gun Creek ramps.

About this water

18,900 acres on the Big Muddy, Franklin/Jefferson counties, IL. Corps, impounded 1971.

Fishing Rend Lake: the full guide

The downstate standby

Rend spreads 18,900 shallow, fertile acres across Franklin County: Illinois' most productive crappie factory (the spring flats fill with boats and limits), reliable hybrids over the old river channel, and largemouth in the buckbrush when water rises. Flat, windy and generous: the definition of a meat-and-memories lake.

Flats crappie mathematics

Rend's crappie live by depth inches: spring waves flood the buckbrush at 2-4 ft, summer schools hold the 10-14 ft flats' scattered cover, winter compresses to the deepest channel bends. The lake's shallowness makes weather king: fronts move fish in hours: our panels tell the tale.

Beyond the slabs

Rend's white bass and hybrid schooling (the dam basin and Route 154 flats) rivals the crappie fame locals-only; channels cats fill juglines lake-wide; and the largemouth program around Gun and Atchison creeks' wood discreetly produces 20-lb bags each spring.

Common questions

When do Rend crappie go shallow?

Water at 58-64F: typically mid-April: fills the buckbrush lake-wide. It is southern Illinois' rite of spring: minnow sales triple and sick days spike.

The 154 corridor

Rend's Route 154 corridor concentrates its life: the causeway riprap holds spring crappie and fall bass, the adjacent flats stage the white-bass schools, and the visitor-center bank access serves shore families with bluegill and cats. When wind rules the open water, this mid-lake spine keeps producing: the most fishing per parking spot in southern Illinois.

Does Rend Lake hold big bass?

Quiet ones: the stumpy bays produce 6-8-lb fish each spring for the few targeting them among the crappie fleet. Black-blue jigs in the Gun Creek wood: low pressure, reliable quality.

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: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Kinkaid Lake33 miCedar Lake37 miCarlyle Lake44 miMeramec River94 miLake Shelbyville101 miLake Barkley103 mi
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