For more info, call the Comlara Park Visitors Center at (309) 726-2022 or the McLean County Chamber of Commerce at (309) 829-6344.

FOX CHAIN-O-LAKES
Recreational use at the opposite end of the spectrum from Evergreen can be found on the Fox Chain-O-Lakes in northeastern Illinois, with these 7,400 acres of interconnected waters certainly holding the potential for a new state muskie record.

The DNR muskie program on this water was initiated in 1982 with a number of Leech Lake-strain muskies. Since the mid-1990s, The Chain has been giving up an average of about one fish in the 48-inch class per year.

The odds that you will be the lucky angler to boat such a fish in 2006 are pretty long. The creel survey indicates over 17 hours of species-specific pressure for every muskie boated on The Chain, which sees an average of over 50,000 people out there on the water on any summer weekend.

Of course, few of these people are muskie anglers, and an even smaller number have more than a basic knowledge of how to fish these critters. Bearing in mind the old adage, "You can't catch any fish with your line out of the water," a key to hooking up here centers around a trolling presentation this time of year with a hefty lure like the Bucher Depth Raider.

Past DNR surveys show a real muskie affinity for Lake Marie and Pistakee Lake, especially in Pistakee Bay. Nippersink and Bluff lakes also hold good muskie potential, as does trolling the waters that connect the lakes, which is probably your shortest odds for putting a lure in front of the fish.

For more information, call Chain-O-Lakes State Park at (847) 587-5512.

SHABBONA LAKE
With waters like Otter and Spring Lake North raising so many eyebrows among the muskie fraternity in recent years, some have forgotten that this 318-acre De Kalb County lake with the 10-horsepower limit has produced four state-record muskies. Although fish of these record-setting year-classes likely have little representation in the ecosystem anymore, there are solid numbers of mid-30-inch fish eager to stretch your string.

Traditionally, fire-tiger and orange/ black colors have worked quite well here, especially when trolled over the old creek channel, deep weedlines, the levee and around the many other manmade structures in the lake. If you feel like casting, go work the flooded timber.

Although Shabbona sees tremendous pressure, your chances for "moving" a fish here are excellent, especially when a front is moving in or toward dusk during the middle of the week.

Call Shabbona Lake State Park at (815) 824-2106 for more information.

OTTER & SPRING LAKE NORTH
Both of these midstate fisheries have the potential for producing both a state record and a multiple-muskie day when the fishing window is open. Unfortunately, weeds block your attempts to hook up about 11 1/2 months out of the year. Go to next year's calendar and put the lake names with a question mark down in early March. Chances are if you're on the water when it all comes together, the window will be closed by the time you tell the local muskie club your story.