Anderson Lake (Illinois)

Anderson Lake is a freshwater lake located in Fulton County, Illinois. It is 12.5 mi southwest of Havana, Illinois.

Natural features
This west floodplain lake receives overflow waters from the Illinois River. The lake has a surface area of 1,134 acre with an average depth of 4 ft and a maximum depth of 6 ft. 9.1 mi shore is surrounded by bottomland forest of silver maple, cottonwood, and willow trees.

A levee constructed in 1980 separates Anderson Lake from Carlson Lake, a smaller 231 acre lake to the south that serves as a waterfowl refuge area. Carlson Lake is drained in the spring to plant food for ducks, then flooded in the fall during migration season to attract waterfowl.

Fish species include: black bullhead, bluegill, channel catfish, crappie, and largemouth bass. Non-native species such as Asian carp, silver carp, and bighead carp are being monitored for their environmental impact. Sedimentation, loss of water volume, and lack of aquatic plants create challenges for fish species management in Anderson Lake.