I&M CANAL
This shallow fishery in the state park of the same name near Channahon is a great day trip for northeastern Illinois families.

Many anglers walk or ride bicycles to fish the shoreline brush or fallen trees that abound using a cane pole with a minnow suspended a foot beneath the bobber. The best fishing is found between Channahon and Morris. Throw a trash bag in your backpack to carry out the fish.

For more information, call (815) 467-4271 or (815) 942-0113.

CRAB ORCHARD LAKE
If you live north of Peoria, you gain a week on spring for every 100 miles traveled south this time of year.

Herein is a lesson for you erstwhile fishing mentors out there: When you take the kids fishing, leave your stuff at home. Teaching fishin'is the mission.

Crappies have already spawned on Horseshoe Lake in far southern Illinois and are moving shallow at countless lakes from Vandalia south, including dozens of smaller waters near Crab Orchard Lake, a 6,900-acre crappie factory that has been producing grins for as long as anyone still capable of holding a cane pole can remember.

Practically every main-lake point within a mile of the dam has at least a brushpile, a tangle of stumps or a beaver hut that is holding crappies right now. There is also plenty of structure along the dam just off the riprap that is holding fish. There are ample shore-fishing opportunities on either side of Highway 13 between Carterville and Carbondale and plenty of shore-fishing opportunities on similar cover along Hwy. 148 south of Carterville to the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center.

Kinkaid Lake is a matrix of sheltered coves and bays,with water clarity changing considerably from the north end down to the dam where fish tend to hold deeper in the much clearer water, moving shallow to spawn perhaps 10 days later than they do at the north end.

Take your cane poles on the blacktop path to Visitor Pond directly behind the building, just one more option out of dozens capable of creating a lifetime of crappie catching memories amid a backdrop that feels more like summer than spring by the end of the month.

A free map available at the Visitor Center shows access points to Crab Orchard, Devils Kitchen and Little Grassy lakes. All of these fisheries are about 1,000 acres and full of fish.

Tucked between the three waters is a large pond simply designated "A-41." Getting there requires a brisk 20- minute walk from the parking access.

Are there crappies on A-41?

Ask the kids four or five years from now when they learned to cast accurately and have graduated far beyond Fishing 101. They will tell you crappies are much smaller now than back when they were "kids."

You should have seen the slabs we used to catch back when I was growing up. Three feet long at least with mouths big enough to garwoofle an entire squirrel. At least that's the way Bean and I remember those times fishing with Dad.