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Welcome to Tight Lines Guide Service.  We are a year-round crappie fishing guide service on Lake Shelbyville and Clinton Lake.  We will provide everything you need to enjoy a day of crappie fishing. All you need to bring is a valid Illinois fishing license, appropriate clothing for the weather we are expecting that day i.e. rain gear, sunscreen, hat, sunglasses, and whatever food you would like for the day.  We will provide a cooler with ice and water for the day.

Lake Shelbyville is located across both Shelby and Moultrie counties in central Illinois.  It is an 11,000 acre Army Corps of Engineers flood control reservoir.  Clinton Lake is located in DeWitt county approximately 10 miles east of Clinton IL.  Clinton is a power plant lake and is used as a cooling water source for Clinton Power Station which makes the water warmer and can be an oasis in the middle of winter when all the other lakes are frozen solid.  Both lakes offer excellent crappie populations.

“My fishing memories are many. But treasured most of all are those fishing trips when all appeared hopeless, and then crappie came to the rescue.” – Dan Gapen

Fishing Report

August 06, 2024

Lake Shelbyville Crappie Fishing Guide

Man, what an up and down year so far for water levels. This spring we saw the water go up, come down, go up again, then come down for a while and the bite really picked up. These past few weeks have seen some heavy rain roll through the area and Lake Shelbyville jumped up again. As of the writing of this report Lake Shelbyville water level is 600.68 with 620 cfs going out dropping the lake almost .10 feet every 24 hours. Normal summer pool is 599.7 so the Corps of Engineers will continue a slow drawn down until the lake gets to summer pool.

Fish are still bunched up on structure in 10-20 feet of water and a nice lively minnow dangled above their heads is still producing plenty of fish, but recently I have been dropping down a minnow colored hair jig and getting plenty of bites as well. Some of my spots in 5-10 feet of water are also holding fish but those are a little more hit and miss than the deeper stuff.

Summertime always produces a bunch of shorts so it’s a game of how many minnows do you want to drown before moving on to a different spot. Be prepared to catch 5 or 6 short fish to every fish over 10 inches. It’s blast catching so many fish but it’s important to not get caught up on any one spot too long because the little fish will quickly deplete your bait supply.

We have some good weather days in the forecast with highs in the 80s and lows dipping down into the 50s and 60s, perfect fishing weather. Cool mornings and mild afternoons are my kind of days! If you want to get a trip on the books give me a call, text, email or message on Facebook and we’ll go catch some slabs!

Dan Lange

Tight Lines Guide Service

(217)475-1499

[email protected]

Rates

Rates:

These rates are for a private charter for up to two people, add an additional $100 for a third person.
All children 16 and under must be accompanied by an adult.

$375 for 6 hours

$300 for 4 hours

phone: 217.475.1499

email: [email protected]

or find us out on Facebook and send us a mesage