Photo by Ron Sinfelt.

The Prairie State is home to some whopping big bass, especially in southern Illinois where anything less than 7 pounds simply gets a nod of approval and comment like "not a bad fish."

When I was growing up in northern Illinois in the 1960s, any largemouth heavier than 5 pounds was considered a lunker. Our neighbor, Ralph Rogers, achieved godlike status when he caught an 8-pounder out of Beezey Guenzler's farm pond on a red and white Bass-O-Reeno lure.

The next month, I spent my entire allowance on red and white Bass-O-Reenos. They're stored away now somewhere in the basement -- washed many times but never triumphant.

Before you grab your rod and Bass-O-Reenos and begin looking for a lunker, here are a few places you may want to try.

DEVILS KITCHEN
The Kitchen gives up at least one fish close to double-digit marks every year making it one of a half-dozen annual destinations in pursuit of something long and green to fill the void above the fireplace.

This old lake is so deep, cold and clear that a self-perpetuating population of rainbow trout call it home.

In fact, trout pattern suspending stick baits might not be a bad lure choice if you're looking for a lunker largemouth near the dam.

Keeper-sized rainbows are definitely part of the forage base for the Kitchen's bigger year-classes of largemouths, but the money bait has always been a black and purple PeeWee jig tipped with a chunk of pork.

Devils Kitchen is notoriously tough to fish because it is full of standing timber and a veritable minefield of stumps. Your huge, expensive Opti or E-Tech motor is safe however, because this is one of several top bass lakes that have a 10-horsepower motor restriction.

Spring is a good time to target the north side of the lake using the woody cover to tempt a big gal. The kicker is there is so much woody cover that your hooks will probably find wood before fish lips. Totally weedless rigging is a good idea. A magnum tube jig is a good choice-especially in firecracker or red, white and blue flecks in a clear tube pattern.

Some of the biggest bass in the lake are caught at night, especially the sultry nights of serious summer.

A black LunkerLure has been a favorite here for years.