The News Outside

I was looking to see if anyone has hunted the Kaskaskia river in Randolph Co. I have a firearm deer permit there. Any info would help . I can’t tell where any parking lots are on the aerial maps .

I used to hunt the kaskaskia river public land in St. Clair prior to owning private ground.  The IDNR has a crude map (link below).  Might be worth taking a Saturday and driving the roads and see where there are parking lots.  I’d almost bet there is access points wherever there are roads.  For the best hunting, put in a boat and drive to spots where there are no roads.  I used to take a POS jon boat and 6hp johnson and drive my spots in the boat.  The further away from people the better your hunt.  There are many slews and creeks so it may be impossible to walk away from the crowds.  Also, spend some time on Google Earth and follow the river and you should be able to see where roads provide access to the public ground.  Google Earth is a wonderful scouting tool but nothing beats putting boots to the ground.  I used to kill lots of deer in those river bottoms.

http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/FactSheets/Documents/KaskaskiaRiverHunterMap.pdf

If you are serious about hunting public land, you should check out onXmaps that can run on a Garmin GPS or even a smartphone.  Great thing about these maps is that is shows where the public and private lands are.  Unless things have changed, the IDNR does not have the property boundaries marked very well. 

http://www.huntinggpsmaps.com/

Are you looking for parking areas with boat access or just parking areas for hunting access i.e. on foot? Any specific part of Randolph County you are looking at? For instance, along the river it’s a good stretch from the north end near Wood Duck at Baldwin, and the locks at Ellis Grove and all points in between. Be aware that some of the pubic hunting areas are also waterfowl management areas and may different rules/regs. You might try calling the office at Baldwin and asking them for advice. Kaskaskia River Fish and Wildlife Area.  The corps puts out agreat map of the river for Fayetteville south that shows the ramps, mile markers, etc. I’ve tried but can’t seem to find it online. You might call the lock and dam and ask them for a copy.

Be aware too that some of the hunting areas (at the lock, Doza Creek waterfowl area etc.) are archery only.

Okay found it!

http://www.mvs.usace.army.mil/Portals/54/docs/recreation/kaskaskia/KRPmapsidewRoadsSmaller.jpg

Wow, that map blows away what is available on the IDNR page.  Thanks Gretchen.

They have really nice big glossy paper copies of that same map at the lock and dam and also at the office at Baldwin Lake I keep one in my car and in my packs

Thanks guys . This helps a lot .Will take a weekend to do some scouting. I appreciate all the advice you guys gave. Now I will only be scratching my head a little .

buckbull - 27 August 2014 11:43 AM

Wow, that map blows away what is available on the IDNR page.  Thanks Gretchen.

      that is a killer map ,,saved here