IFishIllinois Website Redesigned

by Kim Stanhope, Vic Santucci | November 3, 2025 | Recreation

On a wooden dock over a freshwater pond, a biologist and a young girl who just caught a small green fish talk about taking the fish off the line. In the background are more people on the dock, and the green lawn beyond the shoreline.

Photo by Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ (IDNR) Division of Fisheries is excited to launch the newly designed IFishIllinois website with enhanced features for Illinois anglers. Below we discuss the background on the initial creation of IFishIllinois and some feature highlights of the newest updates to the site.

Background

In 2004, the IDNR Division of Fisheries worked to launch IFishIllinois, a one-stop site providing Illinois anglers with dedicated information about all things related to fish and fishing in Illinois. From species and lake information to management reports, IFishIllinois grew to be the resource it was intended to be for fishing-related information for Illinois anglers.

In 2014, the website was redesigned and updated, and the website features were further enhanced in 2016 when the Tournament Permitting System went to an online-only application system, streamlining the application process while providing access to fisheries data for IDNR biologists. Through the years, many additional enhancements were made to the site, including updated lake maps and lake stocking information, providing even further resources for Illinois anglers.

For more than 20 years, the IFishIllinois website served the public well. However, progress with website application technology, in terms of both looks and functionality, suggested it was time to take a fresh look at not only the site design, but also content organization and ease with which users are able to navigate and find information. While planning for the site update was underway, traffic to IFishIllinois continued to grow, and the most recent data showed that in the past year the site had more than half a million users and over 1,500,000 page views. The challenge for this update was how to organize the site information in a format that would be more easily accessible for users. Another reality of life today is that much of our website access and use takes place on mobile devices and therefore the necessity of a mobile-ready site was essential.

Today, in 2025, after two years of planning and building the platform, we introduce the updated site that includes mobile accessibility and technological advancements, as well as improved navigation. The updated site was intentionally designed to give users a more streamlined experience with a more thoughtful layout and menu items.

A screenshot of the homepage of the IFishIllinois website created by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. There is a photo of a man fishing while standing on his boat on a lake. — The newly updated home page.

Highlights

The updated IFishIllinois.org home page is beautifully designed with functionality in mind. A quick scroll down the home page gives users an at-a-glance look at news updates and upcoming events, while the new clickable buttons give instant access to the most popular pages.

A graphic showing buttons from a website giving options to the users on different topics to learn more about fishing in Illinois. The circular buttons are all in navy blue and white. The words labeling each button include waterbodies, fish species, tournament permits, boating, rules and regulations, licenses, records, and FAQs.

The waterbody profile pages are among the most popular pages on the website, offering anglers information about their favorite waterbodies, both impoundments and rivers. These pages have been updated with new maps to make navigation to sites as easy as…a Google map! Also included on the map are ramp locations for boaters, as well as Access to Fishing sites for anglers. If you want to fish on a waterbody, but you don’t have the needed equipment, it’s easy to see where you can stop along the way to borrow what you need for a day on the water!

A graphic collage with two maps side by side. On the left, A map indicating boat ramps the public can use to access various locations for fishing in an area around Decatur, Illinois. The map to the right includes the same map as the left graphic, but has a text overlay that includes more information about the boat ramp such as the name, waterbody, latitude, longitude, county, and notes. — The boat ramps are clearly marked on the map with long/lat for easy navigation, while the orange teardrop pin gives directions to nearby Access to Fishing sites.

A graphic with symbols that signify more information about a particular lake or reservoir in Illinois. The information includes whether or not the lake is family friendly, if there is boat fishing, if there are boat rentals, picnicking, swimming, invasive species present, handicap access, boat ramps, camping, skiing, and trout stocking. The symbols are grayed out if the lake does not have those amenities.

The lake profile pages are still packed with the information anglers want regarding available amenities, including whether there is boat fishing, boat rental, swimming, water skiing, and other water-based activities.

Also included is a Fishing Outlook provided by our IDNR fisheries biologists that gives anglers information about the fishing prospects they can expect on a waterbody based on recent standardized population surveys.

Recent fish stocking information is also available on the pages, as well as contact information.

A graphic showing recent fish stocking information per waterbody. It also includes contact information for an Illinois Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Biologist.

Besides information about the various lakes and rivers in Illinois, the website includes a wide variety of topics, such as educational information about common sportfish species of Illinois, how to tie a knot, conservation angling, fishing regulations, and how funds from sportfishing license sales are used for improving the angling experience.

A graphic showing educational information about common sportfish species of Illinois. There are ten photographs with a text overlay identifying the fish in each of the photographs.

Features that users are already familiar with on the site are all included with the redesign, such as online tournament permitting, online muskie reporting, a link to both fishing license sales and fishing regulations, and a contact form to help people get answers to any questions they may have.

Other pages include fishing tips for beginners, state records and awards, fishing programs, contact information for IDNR fisheries biologists and much more.

IFishIllinois has become an invaluable source of information for anglers in Illinois as evidenced by the continued rise in user traffic to the site. This proves the value of the content, and now we have design and usability to match. Whether visitors are looking for something easily found in the quicklinks or want to do a deeper dive, the redesigned website has the needs of today’s angler in mind.

Visit IFishIllinois at https://www.ifishillinois.org/.

Kim Stanhope joined the Illinois Natural History Survey at the University of Illinois in 2010. The focus of her role at INHS has been growth of the IFishIllinois website use and IDNR Fisheries social media presence. This is her third iteration of the IFishIllinois website during her tenure.

Vic Santucci is IDNR’s Lake Michigan Program Manager in the Division of Fisheries. He also wears other hats for the Division, including acting Region 2 administrator and Sport Fish Restoration research and field operations grant manager.

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Question: Good day! I hope this message finds you well. I have observed a notable disparity in my angling and rock hounding experiences between the waters of Illinois and the oceans of Florida. My primary objective is to understand the reasons behind the apparent deficit in public knowledge regarding our aquatic ecosystems, their preservation, and effective educational strategies. I am particularly interested in integrating this understanding into my platform to enhance awareness and contribute to the conservation of our invaluable water resources. My current focus is finding depth charts or creating them to pertain to every body of water not just glorified ones. I am eager to play a leadership role in advocating for increased attention from relevant authorities and re-emphasizing the critical importance of this knowledge to foster greater public engagement and action. It appears that these vital environmental concerns have receded from public discourse, and I aim to re-elevate them. I firmly believe that a renewed focus on our natural environment, rather than purely technological pursuits, is essential. While I may not possess formal credentials in this domain, my passion, motivation, and deep commitment to the future of our planet and its resources drive my desire to lead this initiative. I would appreciate any guidance you could offer to help me transform this essential vision into a tangible reality and a central focus for anglers and nature enthusiasts globally. So what do you say, can we ignite the spark to make the fundamentally necessary changes to preserve our water and the beautiful, essential things that it provides humanity as a whole?

Sincerely, Amber

5/11/26

Question: Thank you for updating this website! It looks great and is easy to navigate. I work for the Forest Preserve District of Will County, and most of our sites are listed on your site; however, Hidden Lakes Trout Farm in Bolingbrook is not listed. Previously, Hidden Lakes was permit only through the Bolingbrook Park District, but now that the lakes are Forest Preserve property, they are open to the public. https://www.reconnectwithnature.org/preserves-trails/preserves/hidden-oaks-preserve

Feel free to email me any questions you may have. Thank you!