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

The lake is at summer pool and gin clear. Water temps. today were 75. Man do we need some rain. The walleye like every year have changed up their feeding habits and switched to nights. I have some buddies fishing from 7pm to 4am. I cannot due to a guide trip next day which runs from 7am to 3pm. I have been pulling bottom bouncers and spinner rigs with pretty good success in 21 guide trips counting walleye both over fourteen inches and shorts we have boated well over 200 walleye with four being 24in.or larger. But they have drastically [...]

By |2023-06-19T20:18:39-05:00June 19, 2023|Fishing Report|

Fishing Report June 1-15

The lake is at 600.8 or just barely above normal summer pool. Water color is very clear due to almost no rain. Water temps. about 75. As most of you know I am full into walleye fishing for the next few weeks. Once we get closer to very hot summer like weather and tons of pleasure boats I tend to switch back to crappie/ white bass combo trip. Simply because the walleye tend to start feeding more at night and I can't do those trips and day trips as well. We have been having pretty good success on the walleye [...]

By |2023-06-04T18:56:02-05:00June 4, 2023|Fishing Report|

Fishing Report May 15-31

The lake has risen over two-feet in the last several days and water temps. have spiked to 70-75 depending on where you are. For me that spells walleye time. My strictly crappie trips will resume in July. We are casting for the most part a 1/4oz. Deep Ledge Jig and a 3-inch Powerbait Ribbontail Firetiger twistertail. Staying back off very shallow stumps in 2-4ft. and crawling this jig as slow as you can go keeping it on bottom. We are doing this early in the morning then switching over to pulling bottom bouncers and spinner rigs tipped with a minnow [...]

By |2023-05-14T17:07:31-05:00May 14, 2023|Fishing Report|

Fishing Report May 1-15

Water temps are bouncing around with the weather. High as 64 low as 56. The lake level is 596.3 and still dropping. They won't change the rule curve for a few more weeks. So the lake is about four-foot low. Be extremely careful south of the RR bridge, The buoyed off island east of the Coalshaft bridge, Point six and Point five. Give all flats a wide berth. Crappie are pulling up and backing off but a lot of the spawn is done or in the works. Females with bulged up bellies I have not seen as of late so [...]

By |2023-04-30T16:39:48-05:00April 30, 2023|Fishing Report|

Fishing Report April 15-30

The lake level is 596.81 and they are still allowing fall for a few more weeks. They like to stay at 596 until mid May then allow it to come up to summer pool at 599.97. Water temps have been all over the place. as of today April 20th they were 59 on the north end. They have been as high as 65 and the crappie spawn was in full bore but just like every April the temps bounce all over the place. At about 58 the males will get up on nests and around 62 the females will show [...]

By |2023-04-20T19:01:48-05:00April 20, 2023|Fishing Report|

Fishing Report April 1-15, 2023

The current lake levels are 598.5 or roughly 2 1/2ft. above winter pool so expect them to pull water as soon as they can. Currently the Mississippi is high so they will hold it for a spell. Water temps are bouncing from 48-51. The first week of April the weather is about like last week but just a bit warmer. 40's at night 60's during the day. The crappie are suspended all over the lake so we are jumping around a lot looking for any in brush and more importantly looking for the correct water color. The best thing about [...]

By |2023-03-31T16:58:57-05:00March 31, 2023|Fishing Report|

Fishing Report November 15-30

I am down on Kentucky Lake starting Saturday November 19th for a week then closing down until ice out on Shelbyville. Big crappie down here and Kentucky Lake is on it's way back!!!! Keep your eye out for big fish pics coming soon. Plan on guiding down there several times in 2023. Better get in on it by giving me a call and reserving your date now. My calendar is taking reservations for 2023 and several have already booked just give me a call at 217-840-1221. Those crappie spawn trips and the walleye trips will be the first to go [...]

By |2022-11-16T07:26:14-06:00November 16, 2022|Uncategorized|

Fishing Report November 1-15

The lake is about a foot and a half low and water color very clear. Water temps are bouncing around from 51-53. Not much has changed since last report the fish are not bunched up and you need to move often picking up a few here and there and going through a lot of smaller crappie. They are shallow 6-10ft. which makes it fun and we are catching at least 75 a day to get a nice three man limit of 45. I am fishing all over the north end from Bo-Woods over to Wilborn on mostly wood. Cubes have [...]

By |2022-10-30T06:38:48-05:00October 30, 2022|Fishing Report|

Fishing Report October 15-31

The lake is about a foot and a half under normal summer pool and very clear due to little rain. Water temps have fallen to 55 in the morning on the north end. Warming as the day goes on. All signs of turnover appear to be done. Expect the crappie to continue to move shallow over these next few weeks. I am currently fishing anything in ten-foot of water from Bo-Woods over to Wilborn. Some places even shallower. We are fishing jigs both tight lining them and under a slip bobber. My 3/32oz. Deep Ledge Jigs and a Brushpile Hammer [...]

By |2022-10-16T20:14:13-05:00October 16, 2022|Fishing Report|

Fishing Report October 1-15

My white bass rods are soon leaving the boat since the falling water temps. will have my deep whites moving so for me that means concentrate on the crappie for the rest of the year. As of this writing water temps have fallen from 81 down to below 70 and this will trigger some of the best crappie fishing of the year. We need it to get below 60 then the crappie will move back shallow and the big white crappie on the north end will be vulnerable. Mid October on through all of November is my favorite time to [...]

By |2022-09-26T14:24:31-05:00September 26, 2022|Fishing Report|
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