Expensive fishing tackle is not needed for bluegills. Just about any cheap rod is good and a spool of 4-pound-test line doesn’t cost much.

Red worms, pieces of night crawler, wax worms, maggots and spikes are all productive baits. In a pinch, put a tiny sliver of white pork rind on a small jig and nudge it along under a bobber. While you won’t have much luck with a fly rod early in the season, small poppers are deadly throughout the summer and early fall.

Now, you have everything you need to catch bluegills except a place to fish. To solve that dilemma, let’s travel the length of Illinois and pinpoint some of the better fisheries to be found in the Land of Lincoln.

Because bluegills will be bedding in the southern part of the state first, let’s begin by mentioning some of the bluegill hotspots there.

There are large, well-known lakes -- Rand and Crab Orchard lakes -- in the southern third of Illinois with substantial bluegill populations. I thought it might be more helpful to focus on some smaller, less famous bodies of water that hold good fish populations, and are less pressured by anglers.

You can’t get much farther south than historic Horseshoe Lake near the town of Olive Branch in Alexander County. The lake is unique because huge cypress and Tupelo gum trees sprout from its shallow, murky waters giving the impression of a Paleozoic forest, minus T-Rex. The 1,890-acre lake is really an old impoundment, and although it is slowly, but inexorably silting up, its 3- to 6-foot waters still produce bragging-sized bluegills.

The best fishing is found in deeper water above the dam in April and May. The fish concentrate on spawning beds and near the base of the trees. Best baits are crickets, red worms and, of course, the ever-productive wax worm.

Access to the lake is good, with numerous launching ramps and boat rental available. Motor size is restricted to trolling motors only from Oct. 15 to March 1.

Mermet Lake, a 452-acre lake near the town of the same name in Massac County, produces good catches of bluegills every year. Launching ramps and boat rentals make this a very fisherman-friendly lake. A campground and picnic area completes the scene and invites multiple day stays. There is a 10-horsepower outboard motor limit in place, but larger motors are allowed provided they are operated at no-wake speed. The lake is closed to fishing two weeks before the waterfowl-hunting season until the season ends.

The average weight of Mermet Lake bluegills varies between a quarter and a half-pound. Best fishing occurs in May and June when the fish are concentrated around brush and stumps.

Little Grassy Lake could be renamed Little-Known Lake.

This small, shallow lake is nestled within the boundaries of the Union County Waterfowl Refuge. There are no boat rentals, camping or picnic groves, and the lake is closed to fishing during the waterfowl season every fall.

On the plus side, you can launch a small boat and there are plenty of big bluegills around. As in all southern lakes, May and June, the spawning season, is the prime time to fish Grassy. All usual bluegill baits work just fine.

Lake Murphysboro, in Jackson County, is one mile west of Murphysboro. This small, 145-acre impoundment has numerous arms and coves that hold plenty of redear sunfish. Boat launching and rentals are available, and motor size is restricted. Camping and picnic facilities are available.