Horsetail Lake
Rainbow trout water, stocked through the fall 2026 program.
Cook County ยท Illinois · see it on the national map
fall 2026
program
1
species
9.6
acres (NHD)
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.
| Season | Species | Size | Fish |
|---|---|---|---|
| fall 2026 | Rainbow trout | catchable | |
| spring 2026 | Rainbow trout | catchable |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Strini | 12 mi | fall 2026 |
| Axehead Lake | 23 mi | fall 2026 |
| Belleau Lake | 25 mi | fall 2026 |
| Fancher Lake IN | 32 mi | spring 2026 |
| Rock Creek | 33 mi | fall 2026 |
Records from Illinois DNR
(official page). Placement from USGS GNIS
and the National Hydrography Dataset. Schedules change without notice.
Seasons, limits, and licenses:
Illinois fishing
regulations.