Picnicking, camping, boat rental, trails and playgrounds are located on site. Sam Dale is off the beaten path, but the fishing is awesome.

For more lake information, call (618) 835-2292. For travel and lodging info, call the Flora Chamber of Commerce at (618) 662-5646.

LITTLE GRASSY LAKE
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.

"Little Grassy is 1,000 acres and has excellent populations of bass, bluegills, redear sunfish and channel catfish," said DNR biologist Chris Bickers. "There's also a marina and campground complex located on the lake."

While many anglers consider Little Grassy to be a great bass lake, it's the bluegills and redears that really shine here. Bluegills and redears surpassing 8 inches are commonly caught on night crawlers. In the summer, try pitching jigs and minnows along deep weed edges for a big crappie population. And if you're looking to put Junior's first bucketmouth on the wall, 5-pounders are common, and 8-pounders are possible. Main-lake points and heavy cover is the summer pattern, but clear water requires a modified approach. Plastic worms, jigs and topwaters at first and last light are effective. Also, channel catfish surpassing 10 pounds are common on cut bait.

As a bonus, Little Grassy has a swimming beach. There are superb hiking trails at nearby Devil's Kitchen, Giant City State Park and Ferne Clyffe State Park. Carbondale is a short jaunt to the north, and it has lodging, restaurants and other amenities for traveling families.

For more information, call the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge at (618) 997-6869, or go to www.fws. gov/midwest/CrabOrchard. You can also call the Little Grassy Lake Campground at (618) 457-6655.

LAKE GLENDALE
Over on the east side of the Shawnee National Forest is Lake Glendale in Pope County just north of the intersection of highways 145 and 146 in Dixon Springs.

"Lake Glendale is a U.S. Forest Service lake just north of Dixon Springs State Park," said DNR biologist Kurt Daine. "It is electric trolling motor-only, and has excellent bluegills, catfish and small bass for the kids."

At 80 acres, Glendale is superb for a lazy afternoon of chasing giant bluegills with redworms around weeds and deadfalls. Catfish bite on typical fare off the levee, and small topwaters and crankbaits will keep everybody supplied with enough pole-bending largemouths.

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.

Lake Glendale is about three miles north of Dixon Springs State Park, which has an in-ground swimming pool with a waterslide, and camping. If you are into comic book superheroes, the city of Metropolis is about 20 miles to the south. Giant statues and other memorabilia commemorate the hometown of "Superman." About 20 miles to the north is the Garden of the Gods with its awesome rock formations and hiking trails.