Photo by Ron Sinfelt

The largemouth bass is Illinois’ most prevalent game fish and the opportunity to tangle with a big bucketmouth is often less than an hour’s drive no matter where you live in the Prairie State.

Most northern Illinois anglers must wait another month before pursuing bass on open water. The time spent chopping a hole in the ice could be used to travel to southern Illinois where bassing never really ends.

The bottom third of the state has more bass water and fewer people than the other two-thirds combined. Conventional wisdom dictates those demographics should make the successful pursuit of Boss Hawg easier, but that isn’t necessarily the case.

North of Vandalia, bass fishing is a recreational pursuit for most anglers, but south of the old state capitol, bass fishing is a religion with serious cult overtones.

The epicenter may be Carterville, a town of 4,616, its location marked precisely by GPS coordinates painted on Fred Washburn’s garage. Washburn, the creator of Cottonmouth Lures, has cashed more than 300 tournament checks over the years. His protégés and members of the Cottonmouth Lures fishing team will tell you that bassing on the best southern Illinois lakes is not much different from chasing muskies in the cool blue north -- you fish hard for maybe a half-dozen good bites a day.

Technique and subtle nuance are the keys to consistently hooking up with quality fish simply because downstate bass see so much intelligent fishing pressure. Continuing education for bass never ends here.

With weed growth becoming a factor in the next several weeks, the pursuit of bass will get truly serious again.

Dad always used to say you gain a week on spring for every 100 miles traveled south. Upstate anglers should take this pearl to heart. It’s time to charge the trolling batteries and check the trailer bearings. This year is gonna be great!

LAKES OF THE SHAWNEE
Venture south of a line that runs from Murphysboro to Harrisburg and you are within a stone’s throw of the Shawnee National Forest.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service based in the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge manages the forest’s fisheries. Stop at the visitor’s center for information, and then follow a blacktopped path to the visitor pond. A 20-inch one-bass limit is in effect, so your chances of hooking a “legal” fish are outstanding.

Crab Orchard, Devil’s Kitchen and Little Grassy lakes, situated on the cusp of the Shawnee, are outstanding bass fisheries. In the middle lies pond A-41, a 10-minute walk from the access parking lot. Don your waders, tie on a suspending stick bait, shove a few spinnerbaits and tubes in your fishing vest and take a walk. Don’t forget the camera.

Access to Dutchman Lake requires a backcountry road trip through the bowels of the Shawnee. If there is any space left on your digital camera’s memory card, it may get used here. There are some whopping big bass swimming in Dutchman.

Truth is, you could fish a different lake in the Shawnee National Forest every day and run out of summer before running out of water. Fisheries vary in size from 1/3-acre ponds to lakes over 100 acres with launch facilities. Because some effort is required, most southern Illinois bassers don’t bother probing these lakes. If you’re not ashamed to call a canoe your bass boat, these hidden treasures are bassing heaven.

For more information, call the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge at (618) 997-3344 or the Williamson County Convention and Visitors Bureau at (800) GEESE-99.