Photographs of Lake Shelbyville via Wikimedia Commons.
Credit and licence on each image — hover to view, click through to the source.
Lake Shelbyville covers 11,100 acres in Illinois and drops to 60 feet at its deepest point. It is a reservoir impounded in 1970 and managed by USACE. Clarity is limited, which is typical of productive fisheries but worth seeing in person if you are swimming daily. Short-term rental posture: County rules. Confirm at the municipal level before underwriting rental income.
What stands out
Boating
Fishing
Watch outs
Nutrient-rich water; seasonal algae blooms are possible
USACE shoreline permitting — private dock approval is not guaranteed
Score breakdown
Water3.9
Recreation5.5
Value3.5
Access6.1
Investment7.1
Each axis is computed by published formula from this lake's own
attributes. How we score.
Water quality grade
Water A
ExcellentClear, low-nutrient water. Typically oligotrophic with high clarity and little seasonal algae.
Water B
GoodHealthy water with moderate clarity. Some seasonal variation, no persistent problems.
Water C
FairProductive water — good fishing, reduced clarity. Algae possible in late summer.
Water D
PoorNutrient-rich or heavily drawn down. Swimmable conditions vary; check before you rely on them.
Computed from measured clarity, trophic state, and drawdown magnitude —
not an opinion. See the formula.
Overall score, 1–10
8.0+
ExceptionalStrong on every axis we measure.
7.0–7.9
StrongClearly above average, usually with one standout axis.
6.0–6.9
SolidA good lake with a trade-off worth understanding.
5.0–5.9
MixedReal strengths and real compromises.
Under 5
CompromisedSomething material — volatility, water quality, or access.
Weighted: water 26% · recreation 22% · investment 20% · value 18% · access 14%.
Fishery
Largemouth bassWalleyeCrappieMuskie
On the water
BoatingFishingCamping
Nearest station: KASKASKIA RIVER AT SHELBYVILLE, IL.
This is a stream gauge on connected water, not a gauge on the lake itself.
It responds to storms and dam releases, so read it as a signal about the system —
not as the lake's surface elevation.
6.38 ft
Gage height
2026-10-02
Gauge history
Daily values from USGS. Loading up to one year.
What the drawdown looks like
Full pool vs winter low · Lake Shelbyville
The dock sits at full-pool elevation. At low pool the waterline retreats
and the reach to navigable water changes. Scale is illustrative; the 6 ft
figure is from published operations for this lake.
Where it is
True shoreline from USGS NHD
41 km²
The outline is this lake's actual boundary from the USGS National Hydrography Dataset,
not an approximation — 599 boundary points. Basemap is USGS topographic
with contours and hydrography. Switch layers at the top right.
Depth profile
Idealized cross-section. Max depth 60 ft,
average 19 ft. Depth at a specific dock depends on local bathymetry —
verify at the property.
Modeled estimates. Market figures are derived from
lake attributes and regional patterns, not from MLS data. Treat them as a starting point, not a comp.
$410,000
Median waterfront
$6,619
Per shoreline foot
+4.5%
Year over year
304
Est. inventory
65
Avg days on market
$841
Est. nightly rate
Rental snapshot
Modeled occupancy44%Booked nights / yr116Gross revenue$103,931Net operating income$53,767Yield on median price13.11%
