Lake Shelbyville, IL-(Effingham Radio)- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Lake Shelbyville will be conducting dove hunts on Friday, September 1, 2023, at South Sand Creek and Whitley Creek Dove Fields. Six blinds are available at South Sand Creek and fourteen blinds will be available at Whitley Creek. All hunters are required to use nontoxic shot at both fields. On September 1, two hunts will take place at each field, one in the morning (6:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.) and one in the afternoon (2 p.m. – 7 p.m.). A permit is required to participate in the hunt. Permit applications can be picked up at the Lake Shelbyville Project Office Monday through Friday 8 a.m. until 4 p.m., or obtained online at https://www.mvs.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/Lake-Shelbyville/Recreation/Hunting/.
Applicants will be able to indicate their preference for the hunt (a.m., p.m., or either). Permit applications must be received at the Lake Shelbyville Project Office no later than 9 a.m. on August 11, 2023. A $30.00 permit issuance fee will be assessed per blind, payable by credit or debit card. One permit will allow two hunters the use of a designated hunting blind. The public drawing for permits will take place on August 11, 2023, at 10 a.m. at the Lake Shelbyville Project Office. Applicants do not have to be present for the drawing; successful applicants will be notified by phone no later than August 14th. Hunting blinds for both hunts will be drawn at the field thirty minutes prior to each hunt’s start time on September 1, 2023.
Youth hunters submitting applications will have drawing preference at South Sand Creek Dove Field. Youth applicants must be seventeen years old and under. A hunting assistant who is a parent, legal guardian, or family member of at least twenty-one years of age must accompany each youth. The hunting assistant will be able to hunt with the youth they accompany. Youth hunters and their guardians will only be allowed to hunt one of the time slots to ensure maximum amount of participation.
Beginning September 2nd, and throughout the remainder of the 2023 Illinois dove season, hunting will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. Hunting will only be allowed from designated blinds and statewide shooting hours will be in effect (sunrise to sunset). For additional information concerning dove hunting at Lake Shelbyville, contact Natural Resource Specialist Cory Donnel at (217) 774-3951 Ext: 7001.
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