Happy Campers at Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Park

Although we didn’t camp at Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Park, we definitely left there as "Happy Campers." This smallish Northwestern Illinois state park captured our heart, and we will always have fond memories of it.

We discovered Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Park by accident. Sharon and I had just bought fishing licenses and asked the clerk at the store if she knew anywhere we could fish at. She quickly retorted, "At Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Park." We were bowled over to find out it was only 30-plus miles from our home. Once we arrived at this park, we couldn’t believe how beautiful and delightful it was. As you enter it, it gives you a very welcome feeling. Quickly you notice the rolling bluffs and the marvelous looking lake. Then you will see all the wonderful activities this park has to offer. Boating, fishing, hiking, riding horses, swimming, biking, picnicking, and camping are the main attractions here; but if you adore wildlife, this is the place to be. When we there (April 9-10, 2006) we saw a wild turkey scurrying up a rolling green bluff, two muskrats playing and chattering with each other, several pairs of Canadian geese, rabbits, one great blue heron, and nine pairs of eagles soaring the blue skies.  Also, when we were walking a trail that led us to the fishing dock, we noticed several trees that were gnawed down by beavers. And although we didn’t see any deer while we were there, there are deer hunts available here at certain times of the year.

We felt we were in a whirlwind of choices of activities at this state park, so we had to go with our favorite past time activity--fishing! Sharon and I caught 28 Crappie fish in the 2 days we were at the park. Hence, we left Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Park as "Happy Campers!"

Quick Tips:

I have four suggestions/tips when visiting Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Park:

1. If you plan on boating here, do not bring a gas motor only electric motors are allowed on the lake.

2. Although there is a small beach, particularly suited to children, there are no lifeguards in attendance so swimming is at your own risk.

3. Alcohol is strictly prohibited at this park.

4. Everything from canoes, rowboats, and paddle boats, to food is available at a concessionaire at the park. The concession is open May 1 through September 15. The park is open from 5:30am until 10pm daily, and there is no entrance fee to get into the park.

Best Way To Get Around:

Once you arrive at this state park with a vehicle, you can get around it in a variety of ways. It really depends on your physical condition. You can walk, bicycle, or ride a horse at this park (has trails for it), and some people just drive through this gorgeous 715 acres.

We fished for seventeen hours in the two days we were at Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Park. Yes, we are marathon anglers, but it paid off. We found a dock we liked, which later we discovered was near a Crappie bed (you know a Crappie’s crib). It was here that we fished. We each fished with two fishing poles. We had two medium action poles that had 10-pound test lines, and two ultra-light action poles with 4-pound test lines. The bait we used were minnows. We used a hook made by Gamakatsu called finesse wide gap, size 4. It is similar to a circle hook (a hook that looks like a half circle at the bottom).

I was told by another female angler that we would catch more fish using a circle hook or one similar to it than a small crappie hook and we did. A week prior to us fishing these two days , we used the small crappie hook and we lost some fish when we tried reeling them in. But when we used this hook we caught 28 fish in two days and we lost none (your limit is 10 per person, with no size limit per day) In addition, we also learned how to set the hook. We were told by the same female angler that once the Crappie gets the hook in his/her mouth, gently do a lift up motion... and we found this kept the fish on the line, and usually hooked the fish in the lips instead of it swallowing it down its throat.

Crappies were biting very good from 7pm and on. In fact, so good that there were a couple of instances that we had two poles in the water with fish on them and two poles that needed to have the fish taken off the hooks. At times, we couldn’t keep up taking the fish off the hooks and reeling them in.

When you take the family to Le-Aqua-Na State Park do not forget to fish. There are a few docks in the park to fish from. And there is one fishing pier for disabled people located near the swimming beach so all visitors to the park can enjoy angling.

If you have a year IL fishing license, you can fish year round at Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Park. The park opens at 5:30am, and unless you are a camper here, the park closes at 10pm. For more details about this park, contact Lake Le-aqua-Na State Park, 8542 North lake Road, Lena, IL, 61048. The phone number is (815) 369-4282. This park is located in Stephenson County in IL, just west of Route 73 on Lake Road. The park is 6 miles south of the Illinois-Wisconsin state line; and 3 miles north of Lena, IL.

What we noticed while walking in the woods to the fish dock was the natural surroundings and inhabitants of Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Park. The trees here are oak, hickory, walnut, and other hardwood trees. Along with them, there are huge tracts of pine plantation. Also, there is a variety of woodland flowers such as Dutchmans breeches, bloodroot, and bluebells, which are present in the spring and early summer. Then there are chipmunks, rabbits, squirrels, and other small animals and deer that make this park their home. As mentioned earlier in the overview we saw eagles, muskrats, a great blue heron, Canadian geese, rabbits, and a wild turkey. And some visitors have even seen badgers at this park. Lake Le-Aqua-Na for many years was the only state park where badgers could be seen. However, they have recently begun to populate other state parks.

There are also trails at this park. There are 7 miles of marked trails. You can enjoy these either by hiking, horseback riding or cross-country skiing. Even your pets are welcomed to go with you if they are on their leashes.

The park is open at 5:30am to 10pm.

For more details about this park, contact Lake Le-aqua-Na State Park, 8542 North lake Road, Lena, IL, 61048. The phone number is (815) 369-4282. This park is located in Stephenson County in IL, just west of Route 73, on Lake Road. The park is 6 miles south of the Illinois-Wisconsin state line, and 3 miles north of Lena, IL.

Camping is available at Le-Aqua-Na State Park. Youth, equestrian, RV, and tent groups are all accommodated here in the various campgrounds. Even though there isn’t a lot of secluded sites, the majority are open and spacious—with adequate shade at most sites. In addition, there are many electric sites and water is conveniently located throughout the areas.

When you camp here there are a couple of things to keep in mind. One is that even though the RV campground is open year-round, the shower building with flush toilets and the trailer dump station are operational only from May 1 to November 1. And the other thing to remember is to make reservations for the major holiday weekends. At other times, you usually don’t have to do this in the summer.

Everyone who camps at Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Park will be given a permit and some regulations. These regulations are the following: alcoholic beverages are not permitted at any time in the campgrounds; access to the campground is prohibited after 10pm, except for previously registered campers; you must have a camping unit, establish camp, and obtain a permit upon arrival; you can’t buy additional permits in advance in an attempt to save a campsite for your friends arriving later; you must have your pets leashed all the time, pick up their waste, and attend to them at all times.

The equestrian campground has a shelter, vault toilets and a hand pump for water. And access to the area is on county roads that border the park, not the main park entrance. But you should call the park office before you have an equestrian outing because the campgrounds and trail may be closed due to wet conditions.

If you are planning to take a group of youths to use the youth camping area, you must have advanced written permission that allows 50 youths to camp.

Although groups of 25 or more are welcome and encouraged to use the park’s facilities, they are required to register in advance with the site office to avoid crowding or scheduling conflicts. And at least one responsible adult must accompany each group of 15 minors. Lastly, actions by nature can cause closed roads and other facilities, and the park posts in their brochures that visitors should "take only memories and leave only footprints at the park".

For more details about this park’s campgrounds contact Lake Le-aqua-Na State Park, 8542 North lake Road, Lena, IL, 61048. The phone number is (815) 369-4282, and a link to the camping fees is the following: http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/Landmgt/Programs/Camping/fees.htm.

This park is located in Stephenson County in IL, just west of Route 73 on Lake Road. The park is 6 miles south of the Illinois-Wisconsin state line, and 3 miles north of Lena, IL.

Lake Le-Aqua-Na is a man-made lake and was completed in 1956. It is a 40-acre lake.

This lake provides fishing, boating activities and a swimming beach. At Lake Le-Aqua-Na there are periodic stockings of walleye, northern pike, and channel catfish. This compliments the lake’s self-sustaining largemouth bass, bluegill, crappie, and bullheads. What makes it nice for a perfect habitat for the fish population here is that there are brush piles and fish cribs that are located throughout the lake. However, there are regulations on catch limits and sizes on fish you can catch per day. It is the following: one Bass largemouth or smallmouth that is at least 14 inches long, per person; 10 Crappies, but no size limit per person; six walleyes, no size limit per person; one northern pike, must be at least 24 inches long per person; bluegill, have no size or limit per person; and six channel catfish per person, with no size limit.

Concerning boating, here you can bring your own boat (launching it is free) or rent one form the concessionaire. Either way, you can enjoy the 1.4 miles of wooded shoreline the lake has. There is a launching ramp, which is located adjacent to the concession stand. You can rent the paddle boats for $8 an hour, canoes and rowboats for $18 for 4 hours, and electric motors (the only ones allowed on the lake for $5 an hour).

There is a small beach, which is particularly for children, that is open daily from 8am to 8pm from Memorial Day through Labor Day. There are no lifeguards here, swimming is at your own risk, and alcohol is prohibited.

For more details about this park’s recreational opportunities contact Lake Le-aqua-Na State Park, 8542 North lake Road, Lena, IL 61048 and the phone number is (815) 369-4282. This park is located in Stephenson County in IL, just west of Route 73, on Lake Road. The park is 6 miles south of the Illinois-Wisconsin state line, and 3 miles north of Lena, IL.

An update from last fishing trip at Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Park is that my partner and I caught more crappies . However, on April 21, 2006, I caught a 19-inch Bass. Legal size to keep at this lake is 14 inches, and only one per day. When I rolled out of bed on April 21, I didn’t think I would be catching a bass at my crappie fish hole.

The day I caught my bass, I waited patiently for an hour and a half. I noticed that my slip bobber went under the water and never came back up. I knew then that I didn’t catch a crappie, or any other lightweight fish, because a crappie or another pan fish would have nibbled and bobbed up and down my bobber. It would not go directly under and never come back up. Then I had to make a decision. Should I reel this fish in, or let it play itself out? Hmm, I decided to let it play itself out some. I was reeling in and her taking out the line, and this motion was repeated. When I finally decided to land her (10 minutes later), the fish decided to put up another battle.

She ended up trying to go under the dock I was fishing from. This was a problem to maneuver myself to land the fish, because I have osteoarthritis behind my kneecaps. I then just threw myself on the dock (face and belly down). While there, I reached for a small bucket to scoop the fish up ( I left my dip net in my truck because I didn’t think I would need it for crappie fishing). With one had pulling up the 10-pound fish line, and the other making the scooping motion toward the fish, I ended up bringing her in. I was so excited to see I actually landed this fish. I thought sure without a dip net I would loose her. I knew by its looks it was bigger than 14 inches long, and I thought it was probably weighed more than 3 pounds. I was elated with this catch.

My feeling was right about this fish being a respectable one. As soon as I reeled it in and brought her ashore, I ran into an elderly couple who was going to fish and another angler. The older man said he thought it was a big catch for Lake Le-Aqua-Na. And the other man said "Madame, you have a big enough bass there for your breakfast, lunch, and dinner." His statement made be chuckle. As a result of the comments the other anglers made about the fish, I decided to end my fishing day. And I thought it was possible that the fish might be big enough to mount. Although later I discovered it wasn’t a trophy fish (they should be at least 10 pounds), that bass (all its 19 inches and 3 pounds, 12 ounces) thus far, is my personal best in bass fishing. Hence, it will always be my prized fish, until I catch its bigger brother or sister.

And if you are wondering what happen to my "trophy" fish, well she became part of an entrée of a couple of meals. This of course was after pictures were taken of us. I have to admit at the time she was a couple of meals, she tasted good; but now I think I should have had her mounted. At least she would have kept my other bass on the wall company and I would then always be able to look at her on the wall and more vividly remember the day I caught my "prized" fish.

I caught my bass on a live minnow (a size used for walleyes) on a Gamakatsu hook called finesse wide gap, size 4. It is similar to a circle hook (a hook that looks like a half circle at the bottom). The color of the hook is red. I used a medium action Zebco rod with a pre-spooled 10-pound test line. The depth of water I caught this bass at was probably 20 feet. I had thrown the rod out a little farther than usual for when I fish for crappies in the same area.

If you have a year IL fishing license, you can fish year round at Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Park. The park open at 5:30am and unless you are camper here, the park closes at 10pm. For more details about this park, contact Lake Le-aqua-Na State Park, 8542 North Lake Road, Lena, IL, 61048 and the phone number is (815) 369-4282. This park is located in Stephenson County in IL just west of Route 73 on Lake Road. The park is 6 miles south of the Illinois-Wisconsin state line, and 3 miles north of Lena, IL.