Once upon a time, the walleye of Illinois lived in relative peace, particularly because they weren’t considered the prime target for amateur and professional anglers. But since they hit the spotlight, walleye have become one of the biggest stars in the world of recreational and game fishing. This is due in large part to the walleye hatcheries that have started operation in Illinois years ago. Thanks to these hatcheries, more and more anglers can enjoy fishing for the walleye and still leave enough of the fish for future anglers. Two of the important hatcheries include:

The Jake Wolf Memorial Fish Hatchery
Located in Topeka just a few miles from Manito, this is the largest fish hatchery in Illinois. The hatchery was named in honor of Jacob John Wolf, once the Deputy Director of Conservation.

Unlike other hatcheries, the Jake Wolf Memorial is capable of producing 16 fish species, thanks to its prime location. A huge aquifer with 10 wells sits near the hatchery, producing plenty of water with which to rear fish, including walleye. The hatchery is also capable of maintaining the ideal water temperature in order to raise both cold and warm water fish species.

Jake Wolf is capable of producing millions of fish to stock the lakes and waters of Illinois yearly. By paying your fishing license, you too, can help fund this hatchery and keep it running. The hatchery starts raising walleye in March of each year.

Visitors to the Jake Wolf Hatchery can view the stages of production from an upper deck. They can also drop by to see more than 200 fishing artifacts at the visitor center.

Little Grassy Fish Hatchery
Little Grassy Fish is located in Makanda’s Hatchery Lane, several miles from Carbondale. Its name is derived from the lake where the water source used to raise walleye and other fish species come from. This hatchery began operation in 1959 and was renovated 20 years later to allow for increased production.

Although it is more known for producing warm water fish species like the bluegill, channel catfish and largemouth bass, Little Grassy Fish Hatchery also hatches walleye. It stocks Carlyle Lake with these species as fry. The hatchery produces some 15 million different fish species yearly.

Tours of the hatchery are offered all year and the facility itself is open everyday for 7 + hours, starting at 8 a.m. Spawning cubicles, incubators and rearing tanks are open for viewing by visitors during fish production season.