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***SERVICES***

*YOUR EXPERT GUIDES: SO Lead Kinkaid Guides are Tournament Champions on Kinkaid Lake and Tournament Champions on other waters as well. Simms Outdoors Lead Guides are some of the very few guides in the entire region that actually make their living fishing. They are television personalities, outdoor writers, seminar speakers and professional fishing educators, with the ability to teach all people, of all skill levels, to become better anglers on Kinkaid and all other waters.

*MOST EXPERIENCED GUIDES: Simms Outdoors operates by far the most experienced guide team on Kinkaid with well over 100 years of combined experience fishing the lake. All SO Lead Guides on Kinkaid each have decades of experience on Kinkaid.

*RESIDENT GUIDE: SO Owner and Lead Guide Colby Simms resides in a houseboat on Kinkaid Lake for around 10 to 11 months of the year.

*TIME ON THE WATER: SO Team Guides spend a tremendous amount of time on the water, and by far more than anyone else on Kinkaid, more than 1000 combined days annually. Colby Simms alone spends more than 300 days a year on the water fishing with more than 250 fishing on Kinkaid.

*OFFICIAL GUIDE SERVICE: Simms Outdoors is the Official Guide Service of Kinkaid Lake Marina.

*#1 RATED GUIDE SERVICE: Simms Outdoors has been rated the #1 Guide Service Operation on Kinkaid Lake.

*LARGEST GUIDE SERVICE: Simms Outdoors operates by far the largest guide service on Kinkaid Lake and the largest guide service in the entire southern Illinois/eastern Missouri region, which can easily handle corporate and other large group trips.

*FISH WITH REAL PROS: These days, an awful lot of recreational anglers in southern Illinois claim to be fishing guides. The fact is that most of them work full-time jobs doing something that has nothing at all to do with fishing or outdoor sports of any kind, and have never worked as a full-time fishing pro. Some of these self proclaimed guides even advertise with impressive looking web sites that make anglers believe that they are real fishing pros. The vast majority of these people don’t spend any more time on the water fishing than their guests do. Most aren’t affiliated with any full-time fishing pros and can’t possibly have a handle on what is happening with the fish in the lake. Simms Outdoors Lead Guides are real fishing pros, full-timers with the knowledge, experience, and time on the water that it takes to guide, and they have the credentials to back it up. Fish the best lake in Illinois and fish it with real pros. Fish Kinkaid with Simms Outdoors.

*BEST RATES: Simms Outdoors offers the very best professional guide service rates on Kinkaid. Simms Outdoors offers the best lodging rates at Kinkaid as well, with excellent cabins right next to the lake, available at huge discounts for Simms Outdoors guests only (visit our Lodging Page for rates). Full & half day guiding rates are listed below. Full day trips run up to 10 hours or more. Half day trips run up to 5 hours. Trips for other various amounts of time for different prices are also available during portions of the year based on availability.

TRIPS FOR 1 OR 2 GUESTS

-1st full day with 1 guide:  $300

-2nd full day with 1 guide:  $250

-3rd & additional full days with 1 guide: $225

-Half day:  $200

-Additional guest:  $100

-Follow boat:  $100

OTHER DISCOUNTS

-Book 1 additional guide: get $25 off total trip price

-Book 2 or more additional guides: get $50 off total trip price

-Off season and other discounts may apply

***LAKE & AREA***

*KINKAID FISHING: The sport fishing at Kinkaid is incredible for many species. The fishing on Kinkaid Lake with Colby Simms has been featured on Midwest Outdoors Television, and in dozens of publications, including Field & Stream Magazine.

MUSKIE--Kinkaid is considered one of the country's premier Muskie fishing lakes, producing excellent numbers of skis and true trophy potential as well. Muskies in the mid-50" class have been caught and released at Kinkaid, and fish in the 30+ pound range are caught every year.

LARGEMOUTH BASS--The largemouth bass fishing is fantastic for numbers of fish and trophies too. Kinkaid has produced largemouth bass over 12 pounds, and regularly gives up great numbers of 2 to 5 pound bass and good numbers in the 5 to 8 pound range.

CRAPPIE--Kinkaid has excellent crappie fishing. The lake coughs up loads of crappie, including good numbers of fish in the 9" to 14" range, and has produced crappie over 4 pounds.

WALLEYE--The walleye fishing at Kinkaid is gaining in popularity and for good reason. The lake is now producing some very big walleyes, with some surpassing 10 pounds in weight.

OTHER SPECIES--Kinkaid also produces good fishing for Bluegills, White Bass, Catfish and other species.

Kinkaid has an abundance of structure and cover for the fish to use. It has good water quality and tremendous populations of various baitfish species that grow healthy fish that are very heavy for their length. A spillway retention barrier was installed at Kinkaid in 1998, and the results have been phenomenal! The lake doesn't lose large numbers of fish through the dam or over the spillway like a great many other waters do. This translates into more fish per acre of water and tremendous action. Kinkaid is a great bet to produce new state records for muskie, largemouth bass, crappie and other species.

*LAKE & SCENERY: The scenery at Kinkaid is absolutely breath taking. This wilderness lake lies in the heart of the magnificent Shawnee National Forest of the southern Illinois Ozark Mountains. While the far upper end of Kinkaid is stained, the lower half of the lake holds clear, and in some cases, extremely clear water for most or all of the year. Kinkaid Lake is 2,750 acres, with 92 miles of shoreline and depths to over 70 feet. Much of Kinkaid's shoreline & bottom consists of broken rock, shelf rock, gravel and boulders. There are also vertical rock bluffs that plunge quickly into deep water. There are areas of clay and sand along some banks. Rip rap rock has been placed along many of the wind and wave exposed earthen shorelines as well. The wilderness that surrounds this lake is pristine. It ranges from flat, grass covered fields, to rolling hillsides, to vertical and near vertical slopes studded with giant rock formations and covered with pines, oaks, maples and dogwood trees to name a few. Kinkaid Lake sunsets with the Shawnee National Forest backdrop are too beautiful to explain in words.

*KINKAID WILDLIFE: The forest teems with wildlife, including whitetail deer, turkey, rabbit, squirrel, coyote, bobcat, fox, beaver and many other creatures. Kinkaid is home to many birds, including waterfowl such as ducks and geese, and, of course, majestic birds of prey like the great bald eagle, red tail hawk and many owls.

*OTHER ACTIVITIES: Kinkaid Lake and the Shawnee National Forest offer great hunting, hiking, camping, rock climbing, cycling, boating, horseback riding, site seeing, wildlife watching, nature photography, and many other outdoor activities.

*LAKE LOCATION: The lake is off of Rts 149 and 151 near Murphysboro in southern Illinois, a very short distance from Missouri. It's less than 2 hours from St. Louis, MO, less than 6 hours from Chicago, IL, less than 3 hours from Evansville, IN, and less than 2 hours from Paducah, KY.

*TAKE OFF LOCATION & TIME: Unless otherwise specified, the take off location for guide trips is the state boat launch facility (brown sign) located next to Kinkaid Marina on the left side of Marina Road off of Rt 149. Marina Cove is located on the northeastern side of the main lake at the mouth of Levan Neck. The Marina address for on-line maps & directions is 2063 Marina Road * Murphysboro, IL 62966. Unless otherwise specified, the take off time for full day trips or morning half day trips is 7:00AM and 12:30PM for afternoon half day trips. Take off times are often flexible and guides may be able to pick up guests at another boat ramp on the lake.

*OTHER SERVICES: KINKAID MARINA offers live bait, fishing lures and tackle, drinks, groceries, ice, boat slips, a boat & motor sales & service shop, and a restaurant, contact them at 618-687-4914 or 618-687-5624. TOP OF THE HILL BAIT SHOP offers live bait, fishing lures & tackle, ice, trolling motor repair, sales & parts, and fishing rod repair services, contact them at 618-684-2923. FRANK'S REAL BAIT SHOP offers live bait, fishing lures & tackle, contact them at 618-763-4217. KINKAID DRY-DOCKS offers indoor and outdoor boat and camper storage, contact them at 618-867-2401. Camping is also available on and near the lake.

*SOUTHERN ILLINOIS: Kinkaid is not far from the cities of Murphysboro and Carbondale, which offer dining, shopping, sporting events, and a wide host of activities. The Southern Illinois area offers something for everyone and is a great place to bring the family. 

***TRIP INFO***

*ADVANCED TRIP SCHEDULING & DEPOSITS: Simms Outdoors makes every effort to hold all trips scheduled until a deposit is made. Deposits must be received no later than 2 weeks after booking a trip. Although we try and hold specific dates for every trip booked, we can only guarantee specific dates once we have received a valid deposit. Dates are at a first come, first serve basis and its best to get a deposit to us immediately after booking a trip to ensure that you’ll be able to get the dates requested.

Advanced deposits of $100 per guide, per day booked, are required to schedule and hold guide trips. Send a good check or money order made out to Simms Outdoors L.L.C. to our Missouri business office at: 10263 Old St. Louis Road * Valles Mines, MO 63087. All checks and money orders for advanced deposits must arrive at our office, a minimum of 10 business days prior to the first date of the trip to ensure bank clearance. Guests can elect to make full payment for the trip in advance at the time of deposit.

*SHORT NOTICE TRIP SCHEDULING & DEPOSITS: At times, we do accept unscheduled trips when we have guides available, but this is much more likely with at least one or two day’s notice. Trips can only be guaranteed with a deposit, but Simms Outdoors can usually make arrangements to have someone available to accept a cash deposit from guests at our office at Kinkaid Lake, 1 or more days in advance of the trip. Once the cash deposit is dropped off at our office, the guide for the day is considered scheduled and your trip guaranteed. Guests can elect to make full payment for the trip in advance at the time of deposit.

*IMPORTANT PAYMENT INFORMATION: Guests choosing to pay the remainder of the guide trip fee on the day of the guide trip may do so, but the entire payment can only be made in cash and must be made at the start of the guide trip. No checks or money orders are accepted as final payment on the day of the guide trip. Customers are encouraged to make full payment for guide trips in advance. Full advanced payment can only be made by good check or money order and must be received at our office, a minimum of 10 business days prior to the start of the trip to allow for bank clearance. Guests booking a trip that cannot get a deposit/payment check to our Missouri office in that amount of time may choose to drop off a cash deposit/payment at our office at Kinkaid Lake.

*TIPPING POLICY: Simms Outdoors Guides are allowed to accept gratuities or tips on guided trips. While tips are not expected, they are certainly appreciated.

*WHAT IS PROVIDED:  Equipment provided includes all fishing & boating equipment, tackle, fuel & gear, including boat and motor, gasoline and oil, electronics, batteries, trolling motor, rods, reels, line, leaders and/or other terminal tackle such as hooks, weights, floats, swivels etc., lures and bait, landing nets, unhooking devices and release tools, other miscellaneous tools, ropes, life vests, first aid supplies and all other required safety gear, radio and/or cellular phone, etc.

*WHAT TO BRING: Items to bring on a trip include a fishing license, proper clothing, hat, footwear and rain gear for the time of year and weather conditions, sunscreen and polarized sunglasses, drinks and/or food for your party, (guides are responsible for their own drinks & food). Kinkaid Marina's Restaurant is also an option during portions of the season, if party requests guide to have lunch with them at the Restaurant, the party is responsible for themselves & their guide.

Although fishing rods, reels and lines are provided, anglers may also bring their own. Anglers can call for recommendations on the proper rods, reels and fishing lines to use from All Star Rods, Pflueger Fishing Tackle, Shakespeare Fishing Tackle & Berkley, and the proper polarized sunglass lens shades from Flying Fisherman for the type of guide trip booked.

*SIMMS SPORT FISHING TACKLE DISCOUNTS: Simms Outdoors Team Members employ the use of Simms Sport Fishing Tackle to win tournaments and help get their clients on big fish during guided trips. Simms Sport Fishing Tackle offers the very best custom lures and leaders for taking trophy class sport fish in freshwater and saltwater. Simms Outdoors Kinkaid Guide Service guests receive a one time 10% discount on Simms Sport Fishing Tackle products per trip. Discounts cannot be applied to on-line orders, but may be accepted through mail or phone orders. Visit our tackle page.

***PHOTOS***

*PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: Some of the Simms Outdoors Team Guides are also noted, professional outdoor sports writers & photo journalists, and offer professional photography services on guided trips. Anglers and hunters may have the option to take advantage of these services and purchase top quality, high resolution digital images of their trip for reasonable prices.

SIMMS OUTDOORS

TEAM GUIDE SERVICE

10263 Old St. Louis Road

Valles Mines, MO 63087

B2H Kinkaid Village Marina

Kinkaid Lake, IL

info@simmsoutdoors.com

simmsoutdoors@hotmail.com

618-521-0526

573-358-5948