Illinois stocking 80,000 trout ahead of fishing season

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Fall trout fishing starts next month in Illinois and the state is stocking about 80,000 rainbow trout to prepare for the season.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources says the season starts Saturday, Oct. 21, at 54 ponds, lakes and streams statewide. The department warns that any anglers who take trout from stocked areas before 5 a.m. on the day the season opens will be issued citations.

Anglers need a valid fishing license and an inland trout stamp to participate unless they are under age 16, blind, disabled or on active-duty leave from the military.

The daily catch limit for each angler is five trout.

Separately, the state is holding a fall catch-and-release trout fly-fishing season at nine sites on Oct. 7. No trout may be kept that day.