Bluff and Pistakee lakes on the Fox Chain's south end offer the most productive panfish action. Using plastics will help you cull through the little bluegills without having to catch them. With plastics, at least one fish in three is worth releasing into hot grease.

The new soft plastics like the Lindy Techni-Glo Tails are far better than live bait, especially if you want to take home a mess of "eaters" rather than messing around with dinks. Purple and black are the most popular plastic colors, but don't rule out red.

With plastics, the idea is to trigger fish into biting. The key lies in keeping the plastic moving. Often, the most effective movement comes when holding the rod and doing your darnedest to keep it still horizontally while raising and lowering it a couple of inches vertically. Sometimes the bluegills, crappies and perch hit when the bait is stationary. Sometimes a falling bait is the answer. Other times you'll catch more fish by pulling the bait slowly upward. Experiment until you find what they want on any given day. Then put up the tent unless you're very fond of company.

Bluff and Pistakee lakes on the Fox Chain's south end offer the most productive panfish action. Using plastics will help you cull through the little bluegills without having to catch them. With plastics, at least one fish in three is worth releasing into hot grease.

Those lakes found at the northern end of the Fox Chain are the most consistent winter producers for walleyes. Bridges where the chain narrows down are always a good bet because a natural current is created. Use caution because narrows also mean weaker ice.

If I had one place to set boards for walleyes, it would be in the cut between Channel and Catherine lakes. If you get on the ice about 4 p.m., more often than not you'll be ready to get out the fillet knife before 8 p.m.

Contact: Chain-O-Lakes State Park, (815) 675-2385.

BEYOND THE CHAIN
The Des Plaines Conservation Area has perhaps the best hardwater action other than the Fox Chain. Lake Milliken is located off Interstate 55 at the Wilmington exit. During open-water periods, Milliken is bank-fishing only. When the iceman cometh, the bass, bluegills and crappies that swim in Milliken don't have a clue about hooks or the concept that they could end up battered and fried.

Busse and Tampier lakes see plenty of fishing pressure all winter long, with panfish, bass, pike and the occasional walleye cruising these small urban waters.

Eliot Lake in Wheaton is a great place to take the kids. This six-acre pond is catch-and-release only, providing a great classroom for teaching fishing ethics.

Pike are the major draw on East and West Loon lakes just a short hop from Greg Dickson's Triangle Bait Shop south of Antioch on Grass Lake Road.

Contact: Cook County Forest Preserve office, (708) 771-1335.