Axehead Lake
Fishing and stocking
Rainbow trout water, stocked through the fall 2026 program. A 16-acre lake, and one of 7 stocked waters on the Cook County record.
Cook County ยท Illinois · see it on the national map
What swims here
Rainbow trout
Season program record
Illinois DNR publishes this water by season or program window, not by dated schedule, so there are no truck dates to list; the rows below are the published program allocations. The Illinois season shape statewide: spring and fall seasons.
Agency feed checked today.
| Season | Species | Size | Fish |
|---|---|---|---|
| fall 2026 | Rainbow trout | catchable | |
| spring 2026 | Rainbow trout | catchable |
When to fish Axehead Lake
| Major periods (~2 h) | Minor periods (~1 h) | |
|---|---|---|
| Today | 9:30-11:30 am and 9:52-11:52 pm | 3:47-4:47 am and 4:01-5:01 pm |
| Tomorrow | 10:16 am-12:16 pm and 10:40 pm-12:40 am | 4:57-5:57 am and 4:24-5:24 pm |
Moon: waxing gibbous, 92% lit. These are solunar periods, the traditional feeding-time theory: majors around the moon's transit overhead and underfoot, minors around moonrise and moonset. Theory, not a measurement. Times are Central Time (CDT).
What the record actually says
- Stocked through the fall 2026 program
Computed this evening, Oct 23
Gear for this water
For the trout (rainbow trout on the season program here, stillwater)
| Slip bobber and jig | 1/32 oz marabou jig or waxworm suspended at cruising depth |
| Ultralight spinning rod | 6 to 7 ft ultralight, 4 lb line; long casts from the bank |
| Dough bait rigs | floating dough bait 18 inches above a small egg sinker; hatchery fish know the smell |
Suggestions follow from what the state actually stocks here and what kind of water it is, nothing else. No sponsored placements.
Nearby stocked waters
The closest waters with stocking pages of their own, straight-line miles from this one.
| Water | Distance | Most recent |
|---|---|---|
| Belleau Lake | 1.8 mi | fall 2026 |
| Horsetail Lake | 23 mi | fall 2026 |
| Lake Strini | 28 mi | fall 2026 |
| Sand Lake | 29 mi | fall 2026 |
| Reservoir Park Pond WI | 47 mi | 2026 season |