Forest Preserves of Cook County 2023 Summer Brochure

Busse-South The Forest Preserves of Cook County annually stocks between one-quarter and one-half million fish of eight different species into 20 to 25 lakes. But those generally aren’t the fish anglers will end up catching during the year they’re added, says senior fisheries biologist Steve Silic. “They’re mostly young-of-the-year fish, only a couple inches to half- a-foot. … They’re younger fish to supplement existing populations,” he says. There are, with a few exceptions: rainbow trout, bluegill/ green sunfish hybrids, and channel catfish. “Anything else, people are catching fish that have been growing up in those lakes over the years.” The Forest Preserves offers fishing in more than 40 lakes overall, and other stocked species typically include bluegill, muskie, northern pike, walleye and largemouth bass, when available. In addition, anglers can find about a dozen species that Silic says reproduce well enough on their own, including crappie, bullhead, perch, yellow bass and carp. The two largest lakes in the Forest Preserves system are Busse Reservoir in Elk Grove Village and Skokie Lagoons near Winnetka, at 457 and 242 acres, respectively. They’re also the most diverse in terms of species, with basically everything the preserves offer. H e r e m u s k i e fi n g e r l i n g s a r e b e i n g s t o c k e d a t B u s s e R e s e r v o i r . 14 Forest Preserves Lures Anglers with Lakes Stocked for Summer Continued on page 36