SHELBYVILLE, Ill. – This year, 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.

Tournament details

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

Lake Shelbyville

Shelbyville, Ill.

May 18, 2024

Sign up today!

Boater Jeremy Dhom of Teutopolis, Illinois, and Strike-King co-angler Tad Cain of La Place, Illinois, won last year’s opener on Shelbyville.

About the fishery

Formed 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.

What to expect

One of the better fisheries on the Illini schedule, Shelbyville usually offers a good tournament for the field. Ethan Fields figures the bass will be in all stages of the spawn for this year’s go-round.

“I’m gonna say it will be a little farther along than last year because it’s been so warm lately,” said Fields. “Definitely going to be fish spawning, probably postspawners, probably fish in all three stages.”

Pegging the winning weight around 17 or 18 pounds, Fields thinks meat and potatoes fishing should do well.

“I think the guy that wins will probably be running shallow cover, catching fish spawning on stumps or staging on them,” he said. “At Shelbyville, you can’t go wrong with bottom baits — Texas rigs, a Strike King Compact Tungsten Casting Jig — and I’m sure a shallow squarebill would do pretty good, too.”

A somewhat unique lake, it’s one that fishes right up Fields’ alley.

“It’s a tight lake, with a bunch of points and a bunch of standing timber and stumps,” he said. “It’s clear, too; it’s really clear in the summer. It’s its own unique little lake, I love that lake, for sure. There’s a lot of structure there — wood, rock, hard structure — that’s my kind of fishing.”