SPRINGFIELD - The 2022 Illinois spring trout fishing season will open April 2 at 57 ponds, lakes and streams throughout the state.

An early opportunity at select trout sites - the spring catch-and-release fishing season - will open March 19. No trout may be kept during the catch-and-release fishing period, but anglers can keep trout after the opening of the regular season beginning April 2.   The Illinois Catchable Trout Program is funded by those who use the program through the sale of inland trout stamps. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) stocks more than 80,000 rainbow trout each year in bodies of water where trout fishing is permitted during the spring season. An additional 80,000 trout will be stocked for the fall trout fishing season, which begins in October.

For the 2022 spring trout season, no trout may be taken from any of the stocked sites from March 14 until the season opens at 5 a.m. April 2. Anyone attempting to harvest trout before the legal harvest season opening will be issued citations.

All anglers, including those who intend to release fish caught before April 2, must have a fishing license and an inland trout stamp unless they are younger than 16, blind or disabled, or an Illinois resident on leave from active duty in the Armed Forces. The daily catch limit for each angler is five trout.

Please note: For site maintenance reasons, there will not be a 2022 spring trout season in King Park Pond at Pittsfield in Pike County.

For more information about trout seasons and other Illinois fishing opportunities, visit https://www.ifishillinois.org.

Illinois 2022 fishing licenses and inland trout stamps are available now at IDNR license and permit locations, including many bait shops, sporting goods stores and other retail outlets. For a list of locations, check the IDNR website at https://www.dnr.illinois.gov. Fishing licenses and trout stamps also can be purchased online. Find the link on the IDNR website at www.dnr.illinois.gov.

For information about all site regulations, anglers should contact individual sites that will be stocked with catchable-size trout. Not all sites open at 5 a.m. on opening day. Anglers are reminded to check the opening time of their favorite sites prior to the open date.

The 57 locations that will be open for the spring trout season are listed below.

2022 Illinois Spring Trout Locations (** Denotes sites open for catch-and-release early spring season fishing)

Northern Illinois

Boone County Mill Race Ponds, Belvidere

Bureau County Hennepin Canal Parkway

Cook County Axehead Lake, Cook County Forest Preserve District Belleau Lake, Cook County Forest Preserve District Green Lake in Calumet City, Cook County Forest Preserve District Horsetail Lake, Cook County Forest Preserve District Sag Quarry East, Cook County Forest Preserve District Wolf Lake at William W. Powers State Recreation Area, Chicago

DuPage County Silver Lake, DuPage County Forest Preserve District Pickerel Lake, DuPage County Forest Preserve District Grove Lake, DuPage County Forest Preserve District

Jo Daviess County Apple River, Apple River Canyon State Park **

Kankakee County Bird Park Quarry, Kankakee; Rock Creek, Kankakee River State Park **

Kendall County Big Lake, Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area

Lake County Sand Lake, Illinois Beach State Park

LaSalle County Illinois and Michigan Canal Lock 14, LaSalle Lake Mendota, Village of Mendota

McHenry County Lake Atwood, McHenry County Conservation District Piscasaw Creek, McHenry County Conservation District

Ogle County Pine Creek, White Pines Forest State Park **

Rock Island County Prospect Park, Moline

Stephenson County Waddams Creek, Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Park Yellow Creek in Krape Park, Freeport

Whiteside County Centennial Park Pond, Rock Falls

Will County Lake Milliken, Des Plaines State Fish and Wildlife Area

Winnebago County Four Lakes, Winnebago County Forest Preserve District Baumann Lake, Cherry Valley

Central Illinois

Adams County Siloam Springs State Park Lake **

Cass County Gridley Lake, Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area **

Champaign County Lake of the Woods, Champaign Co. Forest Preserve Dist. Kaufman Lake, Champaign Park District

Christian County Manners Park, Taylorville Park District

Clark County Casey Park Pond, Casey

Coles County Eastern Illinois University Campus Pond, Charleston

DeWitt County Weldon Springs, Weldon Springs State Park

Hancock County Horton Lake, Nauvoo State Park **

Macon County Sportsman's Club Pond, Macon County Conservation District

McLean County Miller Park Lake, Bloomington

Morgan County Morgan Lake at Nichols Park, Jacksonville **

Moultrie County Wyman Lake, Sullivan

Sangamon County Southwind Park, Springfield Illinois Department of Transportation Lake, Springfield ** Washington Park Pond, Springfield

Shelby County Forest Park Lagoon, Shelbyville

Vermilion County Clear Lake, Kickapoo State Recreation Area

Southern Illinois

Jefferson County Mount Vernon Game Farm Pond

Johnson County Ferne Clyffe State Park Lake

Madison County Belk Park Pond, Wood River

Marion County Boston Pond, Stephen A. Forbes State Recreation Area

Massac County Fairgrounds Pond, Fort Massac State Park

Randolph County Derby Lake, World Shooting and Recreational Complex, Sparta

St. Clair County Frank Holten State Park Main Lake Jones Park Lake, East St. Louis Willow Lake at Peabody River King State Fish and Wildlife Area **

Wabash County Beall Woods Lake, Beall Woods State Park

Wayne County Sam Dale Conservation Area Trout Pond