Shabbona Lake concessions: Back in business with new owners at the heavily fished DeKalb County lake

The concessions at Shabbona Lake are back in business under new owners, a good thing since Shabbona is the most heavily fished public water by acre in Illinois.

File photo of a sunset at Shabbona Lake. Credit: Dale Bowman

File photo of a sunset at Shabbona Lake, where the concessions are open once again.

Dale Bowman

Concessions are back at Shabbona Lake.

That is needed for Illinois’ most heavily fished lake per acre.

Jessica Letzter and her husband Adam Honiotes are getting the concessions going again, after buying the business from the Sands family that had it for more than 20 years. The camp store opened in time for the Memorial Day weekend. The bait shop opened Friday. Boat rentals were delayed slightly waiting on paperwork.

The transition will be easier because the phone of (815) 824-2581, web link (shabbonalake.com) and Facebook (Shabbona Lake State Park Concessionaire) stay the same.

“We tried to do it as easy at possible,” Letzter said.

Some names change. The bait shop became The Outpost; the camp store, Boondocks Supplies. For now, the restaurant remains Pokanoka’s Cafe.

“We will have new things coming down the road,” Letzter promised.

Bait shop hours are now 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The 318-acre Shabbona Lake, just outside of Shabbona in DeKalb County, is currently open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

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