For more information, call the park office at (815) 369-4282. For other lodging information, call the Freeport Chamber of Commerce at (815) 233-1350 or the Galena Chamber of Commerce at (815) 777-9050. You can also go online to www.ci.freeport.il.us or www.cityofgalena.org.

I&M CANAL
If you're looking for variety, it's tough to beat the I&M Canal in the famed Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor. There's probably not enough time to do all there is to do here.

"Along its course, the I&M Canal has good access and excellent fishing opportunities," said DNR biologist Rob Miller. "In the upper stretches, there are a lot of bluegills, sunfish, bullheads and carp, and good bass and crappie fishing as well."

In the area around I&M Canal State Park in Channahon just off I-55, anglers catch bunches of bluegills on worms, crickets and wax worms. Crappies hit best on a minnow under a slip-float. Brushy banks hide nice largemouths. Dough balls or corn will wear a youngster out from catching carp. And if you want to catch a gazillion bullheads, a piece of night crawler on the bottom can't be beat.

Over by the town of Morris off I-80, the canal supports the same species, but with better numbers of largemouth bass.

Downstream from Morris, the canal becomes an intermittent waterway until the town of Utica between Ottawa and La Salle where Miller said sunfish and channel catfish are stocked annually. Lock No. 14 tends to be a hotspot. Worms on jigs work well for the sunnies, while catfish prefer dip baits and cut minnows. Largemouths in this sector prefer spinnerbaits pitched into shoreline brush.

The I&M Canal is also a great place for a family canoe trip. Good runs include from Channahon to Morris and from Utica to La Salle. Along the canal is the 55-mile Illinois & Michigan Bike Trail. Gebhard Woods in Morris offers primitive camping and features our state's largest tree. Near Utica, Starved Rock State Park offers scenic hiking, biking and the Starved Rock Lodge for superb overnight accommodations. Also nearby is the Great Bear Lodge Resort, which has an indoor and outdoor water park.

For more information on travel lodging, attractions and events associated with the canal, go online to www.heritagecorridorcvb.com.

JIM EDGAR PANTHER CREEK
STATE PARK
Families interested in following Abraham Lincoln's path through central Illinois are well advised to visit Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Park in Cass County. There is plenty of good fishing in all directions.

"On site, Gridley and Drake lakes have excellent populations of bluegills and big redear sunfish," said DNR biologist Dan Stephenson. "There's also good catfishing. Prairie Lake likewise has excellent bluegills and catfish, and a lot of largemouths in the 18- to 20-inch range."

Numerous ponds full of bluegills, bass and catfish are also available. Shore access is superb. Both Gridley and Drake lakes are restricted to electric motors, while Prairie Lake allows unlimited horsepower but has a no-wake restriction.

Camping, hiking, bicycle trails and a canoe livery are available here. Nearby in Petersburg is Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site as well as a few bed-and-breakfasts. Springfield is 30 miles to the southeast, and there you can absorb many attractions. Also nearby to the west are Sand Ridge State Forest and the Jake Wolf Memorial Fish Hatchery.