Oklahoma Lower Illinois trout slow and still off the mitigation truck

The Lower Illinois Public Fishing and Hunting Area is a hard September trout trip. Game Warden Jerry Henry’s Sept. 4 report, carried in the Sept. 9 OKW News outdoor sheet, had elevation normal, water 74°F and clear, rainbows slow on caddis, midges, nymphs, PowerBait, small lures, and spoons below the dam. Warmer water and very low oxygen were the reason. The Lower Mountain Fork the same week was fair at 68°F.

ODWC has also temporarily suspended Lower Illinois trout stocking. Mitigation fish from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hatcheries in Arkansas were cut after last year’s flood wiped about two years of production. Seasonal private-hatchery plants run October–June; about 36,000 trout had already gone in during 2026. The hatchery’s remaining fish are 3–4 inches and need 19–22 months to hit 9–11-inch stocking size. The department said it would share more in September.

Confirm the live ODWC Lower Illinois page before you drive. Mountain Fork is the better September bet on that same report.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: OKW News — Fishing Report, September 9, 2026. Also: ODWC — Lower Illinois River PFHA (stocking suspension).