April Muskies and Shabbona Lake go hand in hand! When the trees and bushes in my backyard begin to bud, it’s time for me to grab my gear and head to DeKalb County for some great springtime musky fishin’! Shabbona Lake is a 319-acre lake located in Shabbona Lake State Park. The lake was constructed in 1974 and reached its maximum pool level in May of 1976. To get to the lake & state park; take highway 30 West to Shabbona Road. Turn South for .5 mile to Preserve Road. Go East on Preserve Road for .4 mile to the park entrance on the right. Follow the park road for 2 ½ miles to the launch. The double launch is very nice and parking accommodates about 90 rigs. The lake has a 10HP motor restriction, which I really like. You never have to worry about water skiers and jet skiers on this lake; it’s truly a fisherman’s paradise! The lake is "stained" and can become really murky following heavy spring rains. Vegetation consists primarily of Coontail, Curlyleaf Cabbage and Pondweed.

For boat rentals, bait, Lake Maps, etc. I suggest Shabbona’s Lakeside Bait, Tackle & Boat Rental (815) 824-2581. Call them before heading out or check them out on the Internet at www.shabbonalake.com they can give you current park hours and fishing conditions! Also for a nice meal, try Pokanoka’s Restaurant (815) 824-2481 right on the shores of Shabbona Lake, they have an outstanding menu!

The Upper Fishing Area and Refuge Area are trolling motor only areas, and are great places to start searching for spring muskies. This area has standing timber, stump fields and newly emergent weeds in 3-10 feet of water. I like to twitch 6 inch Jake’s in Fire Tiger, Glitter Perch and Chartreuse color patterns to seek out active fish. I work these baits using short snaps of my rod, giving the bait an erratic "shake, rattle & roll" presentation. I will frequently pause my retrieves, allowing the bait to rise slowly to the surface during the retrieve. Many times, this slow rise is more than Mr. Musky can stand. It often results in a violent strike that can send the fish straight out of the water. Make sure that your line is tight as slack line means lost fish! I also like to probe the open pockets in the timber & stump fields in this area using VooDooTube Spinnerbaits (www.voodootails.com) in hot flourescent colors for early spring muskies. These small in-line spinnerbaits run high in the water column and can create a nice "bulge" with little effort. Their small silhouette and vibration attracts both muskies & bass, so don’t be surprised if you hook into some nice Largemouth Bass while musky fishing here. Make sure that you work this area thoroughly. If you raise some fish here, but don’t get any "takers", make note of it and return to that spot at a later time.

Another great spot is the North Cove. There is a small feeder stream here that draws fish of all species to this location in the spring, Fish the shoreline weeds and timber using minnow type baits like the Jake’s and Husky Jerk Rapala’s. I also like to use small jerkbaits in this area as well. At the mouth of the bay there is an old barn foundation that contains lots of lumber & rocks. Cast this area using crankbaits. On warm, sunny days check out Northeast Bay. This shallow flat warms quickly and can develop some nice early "green weeds". Work in-line spinnerbaits in the weed edges, and don’t be afraid to toss some topwater baits in here! Jackpots, Tallywackers and Hawg Wobblers are some of my favorite lures to throw in this area. Moving down along the east shoreline, Area 23 and area 29 are two other areas that should NOT be overlooked. Area 23 is just outside East Bay and has some nice shallow brush and standing timber that drops off into 20+ feet of water. Work small jerkbaits and crankbaits in here. Bumping the timber with cranks can trigger some BIG fish! The shoreline south of Area 23 is Area 29. This is a musky hot spot. This area has standing timber in 4-6 feet of water. Fish this area early or late in the day using topwater baits like Jackpots and Tallywackers. Be ready for some action here as big fish are drawn to this area.

The area in front of the dam can hold some large fish. This area is the deepest section of the lake with depths running to 40 feet. I will troll this area using my 9.9 HP kicker motor looking for suspended fish. I like the 10 inch Jakes, Ernie’s and Lil’ Ernie’s; in Glitter Perch and the new holoform colors. Make sure that you make multiple passes running your baits at different depths to contact active fish.

 There are 5 earthen piers that have been constructed on the west shoreline of the lake. The earthen pier North of Southwest Bay has fish cribs located around it in 10 feet of water. I will work the VooDootube spinnerbaits in this area fishing tight to shore. I will also move my boat out to the 15-foot contour and cast 8 inch Jakes into the breaklines. You can use this pattern to fish all of the earthen piers located down the West shoreline.

If we get a warming trend where we have several days of sun and south winds, this will congregate fish to the North end of the lake. That’s when you’ll find me heading out to Shabbona with my Lund in tow. Keep these tips and spots in mind next time your Musky hunting on Shabbona, the rewards could be HUGE! Visit my website at www.biggoomba.com and drop me a line to let me know how you make out on your next trip to Shabbona!

• Shabbona Lake
• Kincaid lake
• Fox Chain O’ Lakes