The last survey turned up 185 bluegills per hour, with a high percentage of them being between 7 and 8 inches. The same survey observed 70 largemouths per hour, with fish up to 4 pounds. Redear sunfish up to 10 inches complement the bluegills, and the channel catfish run up to 30 inches.

Crickets are the local favorite for the 'gills and redears. Fish the bays for the bass with spinnerbaits and plastic worms around visible cover. For the cats, a blob of dip bait or chicken liver does well by the face of the dam.

Camping, hiking, picnicking, boat rental, a nice restaurant and concessions are on site. Of course, nearby Olney is "Home of the White Squirrels," where the little albinos run amok in the city. Olney is the only town in the country where the squirrels have the right of way on all city streets. Seriously.

For more fishing information, call (618) 936-2469. For travel and lodging info, call the Olney Chamber of Commerce at (618) 392-2241, or visit www.ci.olney.il.us.

HORSESHOE LAKE
STATE PARK
Any family heading to the St. Louis area this summer will want to stop at Horseshoe Lake State Park between Granite City and Collinsville. This 2,000-acre floodplain lake is packed full of fish -- which is a guarantee to keep everyone's bobber down.

"Horseshoe has great shoreline access and good populations of fish that will keep a young angler busy," said DNR biologist Fred Cronin. "There are lots of bluegills, yellow bass, bullheads and even orange-spotted sunfish. Crappies and catfish are very popular, and the lake has been a real sleeper for some really nice largemouths."

Night crawlers will produce a steady stream of the bluegills, sunnies and yellow bass. Most people target crappies with minnows or small jigs. Dean Thompson of Bluff City Tackle in Alton suggested that if it's bass you want, target the deep shorelines of the lake and throw shallow-diving crankbaits or flip jigs into woody cover. Catfish anglers swear by chicken livers or cut bait fished just about anywhere.

Every year, the Shawnee National Forest draws visitors from all around, and if you're thinking about visiting the big woods, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better fishing lake than Little Grassy in southwestern Williamson County in the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge.

Picnic shelters, playgrounds, boat launching and camping are available. Nearby is Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, which at one time was the site of the largest manmade structure in the county -- a burial mound about 80 feet high. There is a water park within five minutes of the lake, and the attractions of St. Louis are nearby.

For more fishing information, call (618) 931-0270. For travel and lodging info, call (618) 876-6400.

SAM DALE LAKE
In northwest Wayne County, Sam Dale Lake Conservation Area is a definite must for anglers eager to reel in fish after fish.

Largemouth bass are the most sought-after species here, and the latest survey indicated better than 25 percent of the bucketmouths are over the 14-inch minimum. Largemouths up to 7 pounds are caught by anglers tossing primarily spinnerbaits or a jig-and-pig. For the abundant crappies, use a slip-bobber with a minnow, or twitch a small red-and-chartreuse tube jig over brushpiles and shoreline deadfalls. Bluegills and redear sunfish are likewise abundant, and they prefer crawlers and redworms. Channel catfish are stocked each year, and they rule the bottom of the lake. Ten-pound cats are common, and can easily be caught from shore.