See every public fishing venue in Illinois on the map, with boat ramps, camping, parking and full rules for each one.
Gay Creek is a public river in Iroquois County, Illinois, managed by State of Illinois (public / navigable water). You can fish it on an Illinois licence; bank access is at road crossings, parks, IDNR sites and other public land, and riparian owners control the bank on non-navigable reaches. Public access confirmed via public-trust river.
A warmwater Illinois river or large creek — largemouth and smallmouth bass, channel and flathead catfish, bluegill, rock bass, carp and drum. Wade or paddle; access at IDNR sites, county parks and bridges.
It runs roughly 12 miles through the Central Illinois region. Anglers here mostly fish for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, channel catfish, flathead catfish; bluegill, rock bass, common carp, freshwater drum are also on record. The nearest other mapped waters on PiscaMaps are Fountain Creek and Whisky Creek.
Species from IDNR fishery-management data.
Night fishing: No statewide night-fishing closure in Illinois. Some IDNR site lakes post hours or gate at dark, and a handful of urban lakes are day-use only. Trotlines, throwlines and set hooks are legal on most rivers and reservoirs (not on IDNR-managed quality lakes) with the gear tagged; bowfishing for carp, gar and buffalo is popular after dark on the big rivers.
Boats: Most Illinois rivers are waded or floated by canoe, kayak and jon boat; the Mississippi, Illinois, Ohio and lower Rock and Wabash take full-size boats.
Bank & bivvy camping: You may fish and float any navigable Illinois stream on a state licence; bank access is at IDNR sites, Corps and county ramps, the Shawnee National Forest, state parks and bridge crossings; riparian owners control the bank on non-navigable reaches.
Tackle: Statewide black-bass daily limit is 6 (14-inch minimum on most water, with special slot or catch-and-release rules on IDNR quality lakes); crappie 25 on most reservoirs; muskellunge 1 (36-inch minimum, higher on trophy waters); walleye/sauger limits vary; catfish generous. Check the current IDNR digest of fishing regulations for this water.
Anyone 16-64 needs an Illinois Department of Natural Resources fishing licence — the resident annual is about $16 (a resident Sportsmen's Combination that adds hunting is more), the non-resident annual about $32, and non-resident 1-day/5-day licences are sold. Illinois has no trout stamp requirement for most water (a small number of put-and-take trout ponds may need a separate stamp — check locally); Illinois residents 65 and older, and anyone under 16, do not need a licence. A single licence covers the state's Corps and IDNR reservoirs. Buy from IDNR at dnr.illinois.gov. An Illinois fishing licence covers navigable rivers. The Mississippi is fished on an Illinois, Iowa or Missouri licence in the border reaches; the Ohio on an Illinois, Kentucky or Indiana licence; the Wabash on an Illinois or Indiana licence.
Every water carries species, bank & boat access, current regulations and live water conditions — and members get Swim Mapper, Catch Logger and Trip Planner. It's the only US map with a dedicated carp-water layer.
Open the Illinois map Start your free trial