SHELBYVILLE, Ill. – For the first time in a while, the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Illini Division will start the season in May on Lake Shelbyville. The timing should be perfect for a great event as all three phases of the spawn should play, and depending on water level, there could be some solid limits of fish caught.

Tournament Details

Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Illini Division

Lake Shelbyville

Shelbyville, Ill.

May 14, 2022

How the Fishery Sets Up

Formed back in 1970 by the damming of the Kaskaskia and West Okaw rivers, Shelbyville is one of the more popular bass fisheries in Illinois.

The lake’s 11,000 acres are relatively pristine since the bulk of the lake is surrounded by the Shelbyville State Fish and Wildlife Area. Because of that, there isn’t much for docks to be found on the lake, and with no vegetation to speak of, the majority of bass structure consists of hard cover such as rocks, laydowns and timber.

The forage base offers almost everything a bass could want. Bluegills, crawfish and shad can be found in good numbers and help keep the largemouths in the lake happy and healthy.

Trey McKinney has fished Shelbyville many times in his young career with solid success.

What to Expect

At just 17 years old, Trey McKinney is quickly rising the ranks of fishing in MLF competition. With two Top 10s on Shelbyville (including his win in the BFL Super Tournament last fall) already under his belt, McKinney has put his time in on Shelbyville over the years and expects a pretty good tournament coming up.

“You’re going to have fish in all three stages I feel like,” McKinney said. “You’ll have some moving up (to spawn), some trying to spawn and some out. That lake is pretty darn good and has a lot of big fish.

“The offshore guys could do well on staging areas where fish are sitting and waiting to move up shallow, or where they stop after they’re done. I think those will be a big key for this tournament.”

Of course, McKinney is quick to point out that the water level will be the ultimate litmus test for how the event unfolds.

“Water level is a big deal this time of year,” he said. “It depends on how high it is, because if it’s in the bushes, then you’ll have a lot of fish up in that stuff. If the water is up, there will be a lot of fish caught. They’ll bite really, really well if the water is above normal.

“If the water is too high, they get too spread out, so there’s a fine line. But I think it’ll take probably 18 to low-20 pounds to win.”

A Texas rig and a jig are hard to beat on Shelbyville.

Baits and Techniques

With so many patterns likely to play, McKinney believes you’ll be able to catch fish from top to bottom in this event.

“The one good thing about this month, I call it a junk fishing royale,” McKinney said. “There will be a lot of different players and it could be won on many different things because I don’t think there will be a pattern that is dominant. You’ll see guys throwing a topwater like a buzzbait or frog, a floating worm, spinnerbait, flipping plastics or a jig, dragging a big worm, Carolina rig or even a shaky head.”