The 2018 Illinois Fall Trout Fishing season will officially begin at 5 a.m. Oct. 20. Mineral Springs Park Lagoon in Pekin is the area’s closest fishing hole for fall trout season, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

CENTRAL ILLINOIS

Area lagoon site for fall trout fishing

Mineral Springs Park Lagoon in Pekin is the area’s closest fishing hole for fall trout season, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR).

The 2018 Illinois Fall Trout Fishing season will officially begin at 5 a.m. Oct. 20. Mineral Springs Park Lagoon is one of 57 ponds, lakes and streams throughout the state designated a trout fishing location. According to Pekin Park District Superintendent of Parks Scott Clausen, the IDNR has been stocking the lagoon with rainbow trout each fall since the 1980s, after the lagoon was dredged. 

Dawn and dusk are traditionally considered the best times of day for fishing, because those are times when fish tend to feed. No trout may be taken from Mineral Springs Park Lagoon or any other stocked site until the fall trout season opens.

Trout season for the lagoon in Mineral Springs ends when the ice forms on the water. The lagoon may be fished again in the spring, but when the water warms up and the lagoon thaws, sick, weak and elderly fish die off in a natural fish kill, which depletes the number of trout that survived the winter.

All anglers must have a valid fishing license and an Inland Trout Stamp, unless they are under the age of 16, blind or disabled, or are an Illinois resident on leave from active duty in the Armed Forces. The daily catch limit for each angler is five trout. Illinois fishing licenses and Inland Trout Stamps are available at many bait shops, sporting goods stores and other retail outlets. Fishing licenses and trout stamps can also be purchased through the IDNR website.

For more information on fall trout fishing, visit www.dnr.illinois.gov.

EUREKA

Library to participate in national reading effort

The children’s library at the Eureka Public Library, 202 S. Main St., Eureka, will be participating in a worldwide event, Read for the Record Week, Oct. 22-Oct. 27. The book “Maybe Something Beautiful” by F. Isabel Campoy will be featured for every Preschool Story Time and class visit that week. Eureka children will be included in the hundreds of thousands of children who have the book read to them during the week.

The full title of the book is “Maybe Something Beautiful, How Art Transformed a Neighborhood.” Based on the true story of the Urban Art Trail in San Diego, California, the book reveals how art can inspire transformation—and how even the smallest artists can accomplish something big. For more information, call the library at 309-467-2922. 

EAST PEORIA

College Night brings more than 60 institutions in one location

Area high school students and their parents are invited to Illinois Central College’s College Night from 5:30-7 p.m. Oct. 17 in the ICC CougarPlex on the East Peoria Campus.

College Night brings representatives from more than 60 colleges and universities from a dozen states, as well as representatives from the armed forces, to one location. College reps will be on-hand to visit with students and their parents about programs, the admission process, scholarship and financial aid opportunities, as well as answer questions.

Those interested in enrolling at ICC may want to attend an ICC Admissions Overview session at 6 p.m. Financial aid representatives will be on hand for one-on-one consultations. Campus Housing will offer tours from 5:30 to 7 p.m. For more information, including a list of colleges and universities attending, visit icc.edu/college-night/.

–Woodford County News Briefs–