SPORT FISHING 
At Lake Chautauqua, Near Havana, Illinois," 1950 and 1951 
William C. Starrett and Perl L. McNeil, Jr.* 
Less than 50 years ago the bottomland lakes 
adjoining the Illinois River were considered among 
the best sport and commercial fishing waters in 
this country. These shallow, fertile lakes provid- 
ed spawning grounds, food, and space for large 
populations of largemouth black bass, crappies, 
bluegills, yellow perch, and various other kinds of 
sport, commercial, and forage fishes. 
Between 1900 and 1920 a number of these 
bottomland lakes were drained and the areas incor- 
porated into drainage districts for agricultural 
purposes. It was during this period that the Illinois 
River fishery declined. 
Fortunately for Illinois anglers, all of the 
bottomland lakes were not drained, and some of 
those that were drained were later restored. We 
have learned in our research program at Lake 
Chautauqua, a water area that was drained and 
later restored, that many anglers do not realize the 
existing possibilities for good fishing in the Illinois 
River valley, provided certain fishing techniques 
are used. In this paper are presented recommended 
fishing techniques and certain factors we have 
found that affect sport fishing at Lake Chautauqua. 
Characteristics of Lake Chautauqua 
Lake Chautauqua, figs. 1 and 2, is a part of 
the Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge, which is 
maintained by the United States Fish and Wildlife 
Service principally as a migratory waterfowl refuge. 
Its southernmost end is approximately 4 miles north 
and east of Havana, in Mason County, Illinois. 
With many of the characteristics of other bottom- 
land lakes of the area, Lake Chautauqua is a 
shallow body of water covering 3,562 acres; it has 
an average depth of about 3.2 feet at normal pool 
stage. The bottom is chiefly mud but along the 
east shore are narrow sandy beaches. The lake is 
1 to 1% miles in width and it has little protection 
against wind. High winds cause it to become quite 
‘rough and muddy within a short period. 
The area now know as Lake Chautauqua for- 
-merly was a series of sloughs and lakes connected 
with the Illinois River. In 1916 the Chautauqua 
Drainage and Levee District was organized, and 
after World War I this organization built surround- 
ing levees and pumped the sloughs and lakes dry. 
The one-time lake bottoms were then planted to 
com. Only in 1924 was a fair crop produced. In 
the fall of 1926 the district was flooded by the 
Illinois River, and parts of the levees were washed 
out. The levees were not repaired by the drainage 
district organization, and the water levels in the 
flooded district fluctuated with the Illinois River 
until 1940. 
In late 1936 the United States Biolegical 
Survey (predecessor of the Fish and Wildlife 
Service) purchased the drainage district for use as 
a migratory waterfowl refuge. By 1940 the federal 
government had repaired the broken levees and in- 
stalled spillways and control gates. At low Illinois 
River stages, the manager of the refuge can main- 
tain a constant pool stage of 435.0 feet (430.0 feet 
base level). During moderate to high river stages, 
water levels cannot be controlled, as the lake is 
then connected with the Illinois River. 
For several years previous to 1943, according 
to Frank C. Bellrose of the Illinois Natural History 
Survey, aquatic plants were abundant in Lake 
Chautauqua. A near-record flood occurred in the 
Illinois River valley in the springand early summer 
of 1943. Since this flood, most of the plants have 
failed to become re-established in the lake. 
Flood waters from the Illinois River caused 
the water levels of the lake to fluctuate consider- 
ably through the spring and summer months of 1950 
and 1951. The lake was connected with the river 
for 74 months in 1951. 
In 1950 a silt survey was made of Lake 
Chautauqua by the Illinois Water Survey (Stall & 
Melsted 1951). This study revealed that the capac- 
ity of the lake for water storage had been reduced 
by sedimentation 18.3 per cent in 23.75 years. An 
analysis of Lake Chautauqua sediment deposits 
indicated that they are quite high in fertility. The 
excreta from waterfowl are thought to be partly 
responsible for this fertility. 
*Dr. William C. Starrett is Associate Aquatic Biologist, Illinois Natural History Survey; Perl L. McNeil, Jr., is Fisheries 
Biologist, Illinois Department of Conservation. 
and the Department of Conservation. 
Their paper is a report on a co-operative project of the NattenetHistory-Survey 
