Announcements

Public Duck and Goose Hunting Area Permit First Lottery Begins August 16!

Horseshoe Lake – Gabaret, Mosenthein & Chouteau Islands

Office phone: 618-931-0270
Office address: 3321 Highway 111, Granite City, Il 62040
- Main office is at Horseshoe Lake-Madison
Site coordinates: 38.76062 -90.14129
County: Madison
Site Superintendent
District Wildlife Biologist
Conservation Police

Huntable acres: 2,329
Habitat: The state hunting area consists of a blend of habitat types. The Gabaret Island parcel consists of idled row crop fields, bottomland forest, and a grassed levee around the parcel. Mosenthein Island is a bottomland forest located in the Mississippi River and is accessible by boat only. The Chouteau Island parcel is includes idled row crop fields and wetland forest edges. The federal hunting area consists of 650 acres of bottomland forest and 420 acres of prairie and scrub/shrub habitat.

All statewide hunting regulations apply at site unless noted hereafter.
Use Hunt Planner to find hunting seasons open at this site.
Site uses a free site permit and windshield card that is available from the Horseshoe Lake State Park office.
Hunters required to report their harvest by Mar 31
Parking is in designated spots only. No ATV’s are allowed on site.
No firearms loaded with single projectiles ammunition allowed (slugs, rifle bullets, black powder balls, etc)
Hunters using a ground blind during any firearm deer season are required to have at least 400 square inches of solid, vivid blaze orange material securely attached to the uppermost portion of the blind, and a substantial amount of orange is visible for 360 degrees.
Species-specific rules:

Archery
- No dogs can be used to track deer at this site during hours when deer hunting is being conducted.

No cutting of vegetation on site is allowed.
Waterfowl hunters must maintain a distance of 200 yards between hunting parties.
Early Canada goose hunting is not permitted on IDNR property in September.
Youth Waterfowl
- Statewide regulations
Teal
- Statewide regulations
Regular season (Duck/Canada Goose)
- Statewide regulations
Snipe
- Statewide regulations
Rail
- Statewide regulations

Squirrels
- Squirrel hunting is done by shotgun or archery only.
Rabbits
- Non- toxic shot is required, with a size ballistically equivalent to # 5 lead but composed of non-toxic material.

Cock Pheasant, Quail
- Non-toxic shot is required, with a size ballistically equivalent to # 5 lead
Dove
- Only non-toxic shot may be used; # 6 steel or # 7½ bismuth shot or smaller is allowed.
Crow
- Statewide regulations
- All crows must be removed from State and Federal property by the hunter.
Woodcock
- Statewide regulations

Trapping
- Trapping permits will be awarded via a public drawing at the site office during the last week in October. Registration will begin at 9 am, and the drawing will be at 11 am. Trappers must possess current or previous year’s trapping license.
- Only Egg Traps, D-P (Dog Proof) Traps, box traps, cage traps and traps of similar design may be used for land sets.
- Only body gripping traps with a jaw spread of 4½ inches or less and square body gripping traps with a 10 inch jaw spread may be used for water sets.
- Needs to have the furbearer trappers are allowed to posses a .22 rimfire or smaller firearm while checking traps
- Harvest report due by April 20th
Hunting
- Statewide regulations
- Shotgun and archery only