KINKAID LAKE

There are three public boat launching facilities around the Lake. Kinkaid Lake is 2750 acres in size, has a shoreline length of 82 miles, and a maximum depth of 80 feet. The NW portion of the Lake consists of a 3-mile no-wake zone.

Kinkaid Lake receives a tremendous amount of recreational boat traffic during the hot summer months especially on the weekends and holidays. To avoid the crowd, anglers may consider fishing early in the morning and/or during the week. The upper NW portion of Kinkaid Lake is referred to as the Johnson Creek Area. About 3 miles of this area is a no-wake zone that gets very turbid for multiple days after heavy rain events. Threadfin shad are stocked into this lake when available as a supplemental forage base. All live bait in excess of 8" must be rigged with a quick-set rig.

Tagged Fish: Please report tagged muskie to the Department of Natural Resources at 618-559-5009. Please provide tag number, length of muskie, and catch date.

FISHING TOURNAMENTS: Any fishing tournament with 80 or more anglers or 40 or more boats must obtain a permit from the Kinkaid-Reed- Creek Conservancy District (618-687-1722) in addition to the tournament permit from the IDNR. No tournaments over 39 boats are allowed during June-July-August.

FISH ATTRACTORS: There is a link for the Kinkaid Lake fish attractor map at the top of this page. There were at least 10 PVC porcupine ball fish attractors placed at each of the 50 locations at Kinkaid Lake. There are also 2 Shelbyville Cube-style fish attractors at each of the 50 sites.

Site Regulations:
Largemouth/Smallmouth Bass: 3 fish daily limit; 16" minimum length limit
Muskie: 1 fish daily limit; 48" minimum length limit
White, Black, Hybrid Crappie: 15 fish daily limit; only 10 fish over 10"
Walleye: 6 fish daily limit; 14" minimum length limit

Are there places to stay in the KINKAID LAKE area?