Unless posted, you can fish in all Forest Preserve District of DuPage County lakes and ponds and along both branches of the DuPage River, Salt Creek and any tributaries. Forest Preserve District rules are generally similar to Illinois’ but may be more restrictive to sustain certain species at certain locations.

1. If you’re 16 or older you must carry a valid Illinois fishing license in most cases. If you’re fishing for trout you must also carry a valid inland trout stamp. U.S. military personnel with “active” or “active duty” service IDs, U.S. veterans with qualifying disabilities, and Illinois residents with class 2O or 2A disability IDs do not need either.
2. Fishing hours are the same as regular forest preserve hours: one hour after sunrise to one hour after sunset. Night fishing is only allowed at Deep Quarry Lake at West Branch Forest Preserve and you must be out of the preserve by 11 p.m.
3. Fishing is not allowed in designated Illinois nature preserves.
4. You can fish from shorelines and piers unless posted. You can wade in rivers and streams but cannot wade in lakes or ponds. You also cannot swim or use inflatable rafts, foam noodles or similar flotation devices. (Certain multichambered inflatable watercraft with foot wells are allowed for boating on select lakes with a Forest Preserve District private boating permit, but please visit dupageforest.org or call Visitor Services weekdays at 630-933-7248 for details and locations.)
5. You cannot fish with more than two poles or tip-ups at one time, and you cannot have more than two hooks or lures attached to each. You must observe and attend to your poles and tip-ups at all times.
6. You cannot fish with nets, seines, traps, bows and arrows, spears, slingshots, pitchforks, or gigs.
7. You must release a fish if it is shorter than the required minimum length for that species or is within the species’ protected slot limit. You cannot possess more of a species per day than the species’ daily creel limit allows, and you must have your creel possessions clearly separated.
8. You cannot fillet a fish or remove its head or tail in a forest preserve if that species has a required minimum length or protected slot limit for waters in that preserve.
9. You cannot dump fish entrails or carcasses in any DuPage forest preserve waters.
10. You cannot leave fishing line, hooks, bait containers, or other equipment or packaging on the ground, in the water, or on vegetation. Violators are subject to a fine of not less than seventy-five dollars ($75.00) and not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00). You should also properly dispose of used fishing line by cutting it into pieces shorter than 6 inches, sealing it in a container, and placing it in a secure trash can.
11. You must release fish in the same waters in which you caught them.
12. You can use minnows, worms, insects, lures, stink bait, wet flies, blood bait or dough balls as bait but must dispose of all bait and bait water in the trash or on the ground far from shore.
13. You can use legally caught bluegill, redear sunfish, green sunfish, longear sunfish, pumpkinseeds, warmouths, and their hybrids for bait but only in the same waters in which you caught them. You cannot use a fish if it’s shorter than the required minimum length for the species or is within the species’ protected slot limit. You also cannot possess more of a species than its daily creel limit allows. If there is a required minimum length or protected slot limit, the fish cannot be cut up or dressed.
14. You cannot use amphibians, reptiles or crayfish as bait.
15. With the exception of the legally caught fish described in 12 above, you cannot collect bait in the forest preserves.
16. Although state regulations may allow it, in DuPage forest preserves you cannot fish for or collect crayfish, mussels, or any amphibians or reptiles, such as frogs and turtles.
17. You must remove all aquatic plants and animals from all equipment before moving the equipment away from any body of water.
18. You can ice fish on most forest preserve waters unless posted. Due to fluctuating water levels, you can never ice fish at Spring Creek Reservoir or Herrick Lake forest preserves. Holes must be less than 10 inches in diameter. You can only use portable shelters and must remove them when not in use. Forest Preserve District employees do not monitor ice; all ice-related activities are done at the user’s own risk. As a guideline, not a guarantee, a minimum of 4 inches is recommended. Ice may be safe in one spot yet very thin only a few feet away; river currents, underwater springs, animal activity or runoff from local roads can all create hard-to-detect areas of thin ice. You should carry ropes and floatation devices on the ice for emergencies.
19. If you catch a tagged fish and release it, please report the date, location, tag number, type of fish, length and weight to the Forest Preserve District’s Natural Resources department at 630-933-7200. If you keep the fish, mail the tag with the same information to Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, Natural Resources, 3S580 Naperville Road, Wheaton, IL 60189.You cannot possess more of a species per day than the species’ daily creel limit allows, and you must have your creel possessions clearly separated.