No size or creel limit is in place for Crab Orchard crappies. Fish can be found anytime, but late April and early May are tops for finding numbers of crappies in shallow cover. Boat launches are located around the lake. For information on obtaining maps of sunken brushpiles, call (618) 993-7094. For additional information, call Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge at (618) 997-3344. For travel and lodging information, call the Marion Area Chamber of Commerce at (618) 997-6211.

LAKE SHELBYVILLE
Much as they do with the other perennial papermouth factories, serious crappie anglers will again look to Lake Shelbyville for numbers of quality fish.

Mary Satterfield, owner of Eagle Creek Guide Service at (217) 756-3299), said they had a lot of action last spring.

"We were seeing smaller fish," she said. "You had to work through a lot of crappies to find your 10-fish limit of 10-inchers, but we caught a lot of fish." According to Satterfield, the average keeper in Shelbyville is in the 11- to 12-inch range, and there are also a lot of bigger crappies to be had.

She suggested that spring anglers concentrate on the Eagle Creek, Sand Creek and Wolf Creek areas of the lake.

"After ice-out, we fish a lot of standing timber and riprap," said Satterfield. "As the water warms up, we fish shallow laydowns, brushpiles and beaver huts."

As for presentation, Satterfield said she almost exclusively throws tube jigs on a 1/16-ounce jighead.

"Just about any color will work. But I favor brown combinations with chartreuse, pink, white or red." Minnow rigs, mini-mites and tinsel jigs are productive as well.

Lake Shelbyville is about 20 miles southeast of Decatur. At 11,000 acres, there's plenty of water. Boat launches are located around the lake, including Eagle Creek State Park at (217) 756-8260, and Wolf Creek State Park at (217) 459-2831. Travel and lodging information can be had at (217) 774-2221.

OTHER HOTSPOTS
Perhaps the nicest thing about the Prairie State is its plethora of productive papermouth waters. The following is a collection of the best, but they surely don't include every potential fishery. Die-hard crappiteers may want to consider these waters as well.

In the north, Shabbona Lake in De Kalb County is a small crappie factory right now. There's no size limit, but there's a 10-fish per day creel limit, and this spring there should be numbers of respectable fish. April through June is the peak for finding hordes of slabs in shallow weedbeds and standing timber. Night crawlers, jigs and minnows are tops. For more information, call (815) 824-2106.

The midstate's Banner Marsh, a maze of Tazewell County strip-mines, boasts a very accessible population of specks. March and April are top months for cashing in on the shallow bite. Shoreline cover, beaver lodges and submerged brushpiles are the key focus. And Otter Lake in Macoupin County has plenty of brushy coves and subsequently, numbers of papermouths in the 10- to 12-inch class.

In the southern third of the Prairie State, Sam Dale in Wayne County is an early-spring lake for high numbers of fish. At 194 acres, it has no creel or size limit, and most action takes place along the bank near shoreline cover. Minnows and jigs are top offerings. For more information, call the site headquarters at (618) 835-2292.

Marion County's Forbes Lake in Stephen A. Forbes State Park is likewise a great spring fishery. Papermouths here tend to run in the 7- to 9-inch class, with larger fish available. There's no size or creel limit. Early and mid-spring tends to be prolific for high numbers of fish. Call (618) 547-3381 for more information.

Looking for a place to cash in on some serious crappie action? Regardless of where you reside in Illinois, excellent opportunity is right out your back door. Give some of these Prairie State papermouth hotspots a try this spring, and you won't be disappointed.