OCTOBER
Mississippi River Pool 14 Walleyes
Twenty years of intensive stocking has resulted in a fishery on Old Man River that is drawing national attention. In fact, a fish that would have eclipsed the Illinois state record was caught on the Iowa side of this pool in 2002.

Wing dams and other rocky barriers are major keys to fish location when October rolls around. Cast or troll crankbaits to find pods of active fish, then slow your presentation down and throw a jig. Don't overlook the blade-bait bite off the end of wing dams, if river levels are low.

Call (309) 227-2000, ext. 2867.

Fox Chain Walleyes
A slot limit enables catch-and-release, about 25 respectable fish a day being the norm here. Target bridges and necked-down channels between lakes by using three-inch twistertails. Most fish are in less than 7 feet of water. Ironically, the best areas are where boat wakes pound against riprapped shoreline. Pitch twistertails close to shore and employ a steady retrieve.

Newton Lake Largemouths
Use a temperature gauge to find the warmest water on this Jasper County cooling lake, and then twitch a suspending stickbait or plastics around cover. This is the time and place to tangle with a wallhanger.

NOVEMBER
Rend Lake Crappies
You can fill a limit in less than an hour with some of our state's biggest crappies on Rend Lake -- even from shore.

Vast schools of slabs tend to spread out horizontally on Rend Lake. Count down a 1/16-ounce pink/white RoadRunner jig/fliptail to somewhere between 3 and 7 feet. When you find the "magic" depth, just leave the live well open, call Ma and tell her to heat up the grease in the skillet.

The best-kept secret weapon here is a little ice-fishing jig with a soft-plastic tail pegged under a neutrally buoyant float, once fish are located.

Call (618) 629-2507.

Pecatonica River Walleyes
When the usually muddy Pecatonica River in northern Winnebago County turns a deep emerald green and water temperatures drop into the mid-40s, it's time to vertical-jig down the main channel with a 3/8-ounce orange flatfoot jig and Fuzz-E-Grub body tipped with a 2- to 3-inch fathead minnow.

Sangchris Largemouths
Like Newton Lake, Sangchris near Springfield is just turning on when most bassers have hung up their gear for the year. The cooling lake's discharge arm holds the warmest water. Bass stack here like crappies. Speaking of crappies, Sangchris has some whoppers. Stripers, too.

DECEMBER
Crab Orchard Crappies
A Fuzzy-Tail plastic fished on a Hoop-I Head Jig on cover and riprap near the dam can produce 200 crappies in a day. Most folks go out there, fill a bucket and go home.

Long poles, like the Crappie Commander, and tying on your jig with a loop knot are major keys to success, but this isn't rocket science. Fish are stacked so tight that you can always stumble into enough dumb ones to fill the frying pan.

Contact the site office at (618) 985-3310.

Mazonia FWA Panfish
Travel light and check out some of the more remote lakes here. First-ice usually arrives around Christmas. Electronics are an important component of consistent success on a mixed bag of crappies, bluegills, perch and redear sunfish.

Baldwin Lake Bluegills
You may need to wear coveralls, but the bluegills coming out of the warmwater discharge of this Randolph County lake can actually be warm to the touch. Try ice-fishing tackle on a light, long ultralight rod. No boat required here!