About Steve Welch

Steve Welch has been fishing on Lake Shelbyville since its inception and guiding since 1994. He’s an accomplished writer and has written for Adventure Sports Outdoor, Heartland Magazine, the Decatur Herald & Review and Ilfishing.com. He’s been quoted and written about in the Bloomington Pantagraph, Peoria Journal Star, Effingham Daily News, Illinois Fish & Game Finder Magazine, North American Crappie, and Field & Stream’s ‘Best Fishing Spots in the Midwest’.

Fishing Report June 15-30

Lake Level is 601.22 and falling. Normal summer pool is 599.7 about two inches a day. Water temps are around 71 and visibility is very good about 6in. easily. Walleye have gotten so hit and miss I put my spinner rigs away and switched back to crappie. We would get three or four then go two days with nothing. Then the white bass disappeared that we were catching while pulling spinners. The lake constantly rising and falling this spring had to have a lot to do with this. All my buddies who both guide and fish for them are way [...]

By |2024-06-10T14:54:51-05:00June 10, 2024|Fishing Report|

Fishing Report June 1-15

The lake level is 600.7. Normal summer pool is 599.7. Falling slowly. Water temps are running 70-73. Slightly stained with the recent rains. Walleye has been hit or miss with me for nearly a month. Seams I need proper wind direction to set them up. I am still pulling my spinner rigs and catching a few each day. Starting to see more walleye now mixed in with the sauger. For the most part I have been catching sauger due to the deeper depths I have been fishing. 14-16ft. With the lake falling I think more walleye will drop back from [...]

By |2024-05-26T07:36:12-05:00May 26, 2024|Fishing Report|

Fishing Report May 15-31

Water temps are running 67-71 and the lake is currently 601.99. Summer pool is 599.7. So roughly two-feet high and falling. This has made crappie fishing extremely tough. Everyone is complaining on how early the spawn was and now they can't find any fish. Water temps have been past 70 a couple of times and the crappie will spawn at 62 so 90% of the spawn is done. This along with high water spread the fish out everywhere. Now just leave them alone to re-coop from the spawn and in a few weeks they will be on main lake brush [...]

By |2024-05-13T17:56:51-05:00May 13, 2024|Fishing Report|

Fishing Report May 1-15

YOYO is the word for end of April first part of May. The lake came up to summer pool or about five-feet then back down two-feet now back up nearly three-feet to a foot and a half over summer pool expected crest. Water temps hit 65 then back to 55 now back up to 67. The crappie spawn is in full swing but with the lake rising a lot of the beds I have been using are now too deep. So I am always moving. It seams like ten-feet on my slip bobber set up is as deep as I [...]

By |2024-05-01T17:25:14-05:00May 1, 2024|Fishing Report|

Fishing Report April 15-30

Water temps today was 60-61 on the north end. Color very dirty up by Wilborn and over at Bo-Woods. The lake levels are at 599.7 ft. above sea level or summer pool. They are dropping it pretty fast down to 596. This will relocate fish for sure. Currently I am seeing male crappie take on their spawn colors and today April 18th I saw some females with bloody egg sacks so some spawning is starting. This weekends cold weather will slow it up a bit but they are really dedicated and the bite should still be good. Today we boated [...]

By |2024-04-18T18:11:01-05:00April 18, 2024|Fishing Report|

Fishing Report April 1-15

I am down on Kentucky Lake until April 18th. I am relying on several of my guide buddies for a fishing report on Shelbyville. The lake should come up to 596ft. above sea level April 1st. This will help because it is as low as you will ever see it right now. Water temps. will still be bouncing all over the place and you will have to search out clearer water just like every spring. The pre-spawn period never gets going until mid to late April or we see consistent water temps. in the mid 50's. All other movements in [...]

By |2024-03-28T07:34:36-05:00March 28, 2024|Fishing Report|

Fishing Report March 17-31 2024

My first fishing report for 2024. The lake is 595.04 or 1.04ft. above winter pool. Very low but normal this time of the year. Summer pool is 599.7. Winter is 594. With all the warm weather we have experienced the water temps. have went up quick. Today I found as high as 54.8. The crappie are up shallow basking in the much warmer water temps than the deep water. With all the wind we are tight lining a 3/32oz. Deep Ledge Jig and a Brushpile Hammer or Dart in either Peppercorn, Wyatt's Blue Magic or Green Goblin. Today the Dart [...]

By |2024-03-15T17:02:43-05:00March 15, 2024|Fishing Report|

Availability for 2024 & 2025

Lot's of clients have reached out asking "when are you going to start booking for next year?"... Well here goes... Kentucky Lake - Big Sandy March 25-27,31 April 7 Might open up March 20-24 as well. These trips are in the wall-hanger timeframe & a must see Bucket List Opportunity. Lake Shelbyville Pre-Spawn-Spawn Crappie April 19-24 May 1-3,5,8-11 Walleye/Crappie/White Bass - Pulling Spinners May 12-16,22,24-29,31 June 1-5,7-12 Be aware for the later trips in June, if the walleye quit and I can't give you a decent trip then I switch to post-spawn crappie. June 12-28 Crappie/White Bass on slip bobbers [...]

By |2024-11-20T12:10:39-06:00December 9, 2023|Fishing|

Winter Show Schedule

Rockford Il. Boat, Vacation and Fishing Show February 2,3,4 Booth and Seminars Tinley Park Il. Tinley Travel & Outdoor Expo February 16,17,18 Sullivan Il. VFW Crappiefest March 9

By |2024-01-31T06:49:39-06:00December 9, 2023|Fishing Trips|

Kentucky Lake Reminder

Spring will be here before you know it and those great Kentucky Lake Crappie spawn trips will be gone. Last year I took Lee Sharp down and went right to a shallow laydown in four-feet of water. Our first six fish were all blackened up males with spawn colors over 14in. long. He was hooked on Kentucky Lake from then on and jumps at it every time I say let's go. Their water temps run about ten degrees or more warmer than Shelbyville in the spring so I get a three to four week jump on the spawn. Love starting [...]

By |2024-01-31T06:52:25-06:00November 30, 2023|Crappie Fishing, Fishing Trips|
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