South Pool fishing: Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Pumpkinseed

Target species: Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, White Sucker, Green Sunfish, Orangespotted Sunfish

The reservoir

South Pool covers 426 acres in Illinois, across Cook County. It is a reservoir: 95.8% of it is 7 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 16 feet (4.9 m). Our records hold 11 species for this water.

6 target fish, led by Largemouth Bass

  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Bluegill — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • Pumpkinseed — Feeding water: 65–80°F.
  • White Sucker — Feeding water: 50–70°F.
  • Green Sunfish — Feeding water: 65–80°F.
  • Orangespotted Sunfish — Feeding water: 70–80°F.

Also recorded here: Yellow Bullhead, Common Carp, Golden Shiner, Brook Silverside, Fathead Minnow.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 16 ft (4.9 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 95.8% of the water is 7 feet or shallower. We hold 58 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–1 ft: 18.3% of the water
  • 1–2 ft: 15.9% of the water
  • 2–3 ft: 12.5% of the water
  • 3–4 ft: 9.9% of the water
  • 4–5 ft: 11.3% of the water
  • 5–6 ft: 15.3% of the water
  • 6–7 ft: 12.6% of the water
  • 7–8 ft: 4.2% of the water

Water and conditions

Our water temperature readings average 70°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 7.9. These readings span 2018. The latest reading is from 2018, more than three years ago: read these numbers as history, not as the water today.

What is hard here

With 95.8% of the water 7 feet or less, low level turns the flats into hazards.

Where this data comes from

  • USGS Central Midwest WSC / Cook County Bureau of Technology — USGS Central Midwest WSC / Cook County Bureau of Technology: depth contours: class A, a survey of the bottom.
  • Webster, K.E., McCullough, I.M., Soranno, P.A. LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0, EDI, doi:10.6073/pasta/64ddc4d04661d9aef4bd702dc5d8984f (CC BY 4.0); Cheruvelil et al. LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 (EDI) — LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0: Lake depth for 17,675 lakes in the conterminous U.S.: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.