Drive on Over: 4 Favorite Fishing Spots Near Niles, IL

Niles, IL, is close to some of the best fishing spots in the region. Anglers boast good size catches of small and largemouth bass, trout, Northern pike, walleye, muskellunge, bluegill, crappie, and catfish. Get in a tough and rugged Chevrolet Trailblazer or Chevrolet Silverado with plenty of space for your fishing tackle, and head to the excellent fishing holes below to wet your hook.

1. Big Bend Lake

Big Bend Lake is in Des Plaines, a quick 5.3 miles from Niles on Bender Road, has a boat ramp, and is a popular fishing lake throughout the year. A spillway connects the 27-acre lake to the Des Plaines River, causing the water level to fluctuate and bringing channel catfish and northern pike into the lake. Anglers usually catch largemouth bass, bullheads, pumpkinseed sunfish, bluegill, carp, and crappie from the shores or boats. 

2. Skokie Lagoons

Skokie Lagoons, one of the area’s prime fishing destinations, is an 894-acre system with seven lagoons connected by a network of pools and channels on the Skokie River. Anglers wet their hooks for largemouth and smallmouth bass, walleye, Northern pike, muskellunge, channel catfish, bluegill, crappie, and rainbow trout.

There are several access points, with the Erickson Woods Willow Road entrance in Cook County, about six miles away, being the closest to Niles. The Tower Road boat ramp, west of Forestway Drive in Cook County near Winnetka, makes it easy to fish from a canoe, kayak, or boat. 

3. Belleau Lake

The 12-acre Belleau Lake off Busse Highway, northwest of Oakton Street in Park Ridge, just over 9 miles away, is one of the area’s deepest lakes. It’s a shore fishing lake teeming with 14 fish species, including bass, sunfish, perch, bullhead, shad, shiners, carp, and crappie. Anglers reel in bluegill close to eight inches in these deep, clear waters.

The best time to hook bluegill is in the spring spawning season between mid-May to early June. Largemouth bass, however, is plentiful, with average catches exceeding eight inches in length, and some anglers boast maximum size fish over 15 inches. 

4. Busse Reservoir

At 457 acres, Busse Reservoir, consisting of three pools, is the largest lake in the area. The lake offers anglers 20 miles of excellent shore fishing and six barrier-free fishing walls. The pools are top spots for hooking bluegill, sunfish, bullheads, bass, perch, and crappie. The 17-acre North Pool, the smallest of the three pools, holds a good supply of largemouth bass and channel catfish and is annually stocked with trout in fall.

If you want to try your luck fishing from a boat, head to the Busse Lake Boating Center at East Higgins Road in Cook County, a 9-mile drive from Niles. The center offers boat rentals and sells fishing equipment and bait.

Load your fishing gear in the Chevrolet and drop your hook in the best fishing holes, teeming with numerous fish species just a short drive from home. Before you go on an exciting fishing expedition, call Golf Mill Chevrolet today to book a maintenance service and ensure your SUV or truck is in excellent running condition.

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