Kankakee River Fishing Guides and Conditions, Illinois

About the Kankakee River

The Kankakee enters Illinois from Indiana as a dredged, straightened ditch and turns into a real river within a few miles. Below the state line it flows over sand, gravel and limestone ledges through Momence, past the Kankakee River State Park and on to the Illinois River at the Des Plaines confluence. The water runs noticeably cleaner than most of the surrounding farm-country rivers because so much of its flow comes from sand-country groundwater rather than surface runoff.

That clarity shows up in the fishing. Smallmouth bass are the mainstay and the river holds them in numbers, on the ledges, around boulders and along the rock banks through the state park. Walleye are the other draw, and the Kankakee has a genuine natural walleye population rather than a purely stocked one, fished hardest in early spring and again from the first cool nights of fall. Northern pike hold in the sloughs and the slower Indiana-side backwaters, big flathead catfish live in the deep holes, and rock bass are everywhere in the rocky reaches.

The Momence gauge is the number to read before a trip. Because the upper basin drains sandy soil the river rises more slowly and clears far faster than the Fox or the Des Plaines. Moderate readings give wadeable ledges and good float conditions; high spring water pushes the fish tight to the banks and makes the ledges dangerous in a canoe. Late-summer lows are clear and technical, and the fish get spooky in the flat water.

Momence, Kankakee, Aroma Park and Wilmington cover the corridor. The Kankakee River State Park provides several miles of public bank and boat access, which is unusual in this part of the state.

Access

Momence: town access and the ledge water at the gauge.
Aroma Park: the Iroquois River confluence and a public ramp.
Kankakee River State Park: several miles of public bank, canoe launches and campgrounds.
Warner Bridge and Davis Creek: state park access points.
Wilmington and the Six Mile Pool: lower river dam pool and ramps.
Custer Park and Kankakee River access at Interstate 55: lower river.
State Line and the Indiana border reaches: upper river, mostly slower water.

Seasons

March and April: walleye and the first smallmouth, high water off the Indiana flats.
May and June: peak smallmouth on the ledges, good float conditions.
July and August: clear low water, early and late fishing, easy wading.
September through November: the best walleye and biggest smallmouth of the year.