Apple River Fishing Guides
A clear driftless-country smallmouth stream in the one corner of Illinois the glaciers missed, running hard over rock to the Mississippi.
Guides on the Apple River
Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.
No guides listed yet
Guide or outfit this water? Create your profile. Listing is free, the commission is 10% or 7% with a premium profile, and premium profiles list first on this water.
About the Apple River
Most people picture Illinois as flat, and for most of the state that is fair. The northwest corner is the exception. The glaciers that flattened everything else stopped short of Jo Daviess County, and what they left behind is driftless country – steep wooded hills, limestone bluffs and cold clear streams that look far more like southwest Wisconsin than like the prairie an hour south. The Apple River is the best of them. It runs south and west out of the hill country, cuts a genuine canyon above Elizabeth, and then spills down through Hanover to meet the Mississippi in a maze of sloughs and backwaters.
The fishing follows the geology. Where the river runs over rock ledge and gravel it is a smallmouth stream in the honest sense, with fish holding in the seams below every riffle and rock bass filling the slower pockets behind boulders. Wading is the natural way to fish it – the river is small enough through most of its length that a careful angler can cover a mile of water on foot, and the water clarity that makes it beautiful also makes it demanding. Downstream, where the gradient flattens and the river backs into the Mississippi bottoms, the character changes completely. Channel catfish and carp take over the deeper holes, northern pike hold along the weedy margins, and the occasional walleye moves up out of the big river.
The gauge near Hanover publishes discharge and stage but no temperature, so judge the season by air and by the water itself. This is a small watershed that rises and falls quickly after rain, and it clears just as fast. A day or two after a summer storm is often the best window of the year.
This water needs a real photo
The photo at the top of this page is not Apple River.
It is a regional stand-in, honestly captioned but generic — we will not put a name to a river we cannot prove. Send us a photograph you took here and it replaces the stand-in, with your credit on it.
Add a photo of this water
Landscape, not fish — the water itself. Reviewed by hand before it appears. The first one published here earns the Pioneer badge.
Fished this water? Add a photo
Reviewed by hand before it appears. Pick the water, not the spot — we never publish exact locations.
Access
Apple River Canyon State Park - the headline access, with trail-and-wade entry to the canyon reach.
Hanover village riverfront - bank and cartop access on the lower river.
Millville Road crossing - a gravel-bar wade entry above the Mississippi bottoms.
Elizabeth area bridge crossings - roadside access to the middle river smallmouth water.
Blanding Landing Recreation Area - Mississippi River ramp giving boat access to the mouth.
Thunder Bay Road access - walk-in to the lower riffles.
Apple River Canyon primitive campground reach - overnight base for a two-day wade.
Seasons
Spring: high and colored early, then prime as it drops - smallmouth move onto the gravel and pike are active in the backwaters.
Summer: low, clear and technical in the canyon, with the best fishing at first light and in the hour after a storm clears.
Fall: the strongest smallmouth month, with fish feeding hard on the ledges before winter.
Winter: mostly a catfish and carp proposition in the lower bottoms; the canyon reach ices in most years.
From the water
No logged trips yet. Be the first to put this water on your map.
Log this water
Fished it or cleaned it? Log in or create a free account to log a trip with photos and earn the waterway badge.
Questions
What is the current flow on the Apple River?
As of Sep 17, 6:15 am, the USGS gauge APPLE RIVER NEAR HANOVER, IL reads 217 cfs. Conditions update every 15 minutes.
What species can you catch on the Apple River?
Anglers target Black Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Common Carp, Northern Pike, Rock Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Sucker on the Apple River in Illinois.
Where can you access the Apple River?
Apple River Canyon State Park - the headline access, with trail-and-wade entry to the canyon reach. Hanover village riverfront - bank and cartop access on the lower river. Millville Road crossing - a gravel-bar wade entry above the Mississippi bottoms. Elizabeth area bridge crossings - roadside access to the middle river smallmouth water. Blanding Landing Recreation Area - Mississippi River ramp giving boat access to the mouth. Thunder Bay Road access - walk-in to the lower riffles. Apple River Canyon primitive campground reach - overnight base for a two-day wade.
When is the best time to fish the Apple River?
Spring: high and colored early, then prime as it drops - smallmouth move onto the gravel and pike are active in the backwaters. Summer: low, clear and technical in the canyon, with the best fishing at first light and in the hour after a storm clears. Fall: the strongest smallmouth month, with fish feeding hard on the ledges before winter. Winter: mostly a catfish and carp proposition in the lower bottoms; the canyon reach ices in most years.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Apple River?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Illinois agency site: https://www.ifishillinois.org/site-documents/FishingDigest.pdf