EAST FORK LAKE
DNR fisheries biologist Mike Hooe said there is at least one year-class of walleyes swimming in this 935-acre eastern Illinois lake with representation in the double digits. Most adult year-classes of walleyes are in the 3- to 5-pound range. Statewide harvest guidelines of six fish/14 inches are in effect.

The city of Olney requires a use-sticker prior to launching your boat, with a sliding fee schedule based on outboard motor size. Stickers are available at several locations, including City Hall and Lakeside Bait Shop below the dam.

East Fork is exceptionally clear thanks to a silt-catching basin. Three-foot visibility is not unusual, with an average lake depth here of 15 feet and maximum depth of 38 feet just up from the dam. Several main-lake points with steep transition areas provide nearly classic walleye structure.

Try Lindy Rigging with a six-foot snell and either a jumbo leech or nose-hooked nightcrawler. Glass-pattern Rapalas and similar natural color scheme crankbaits also work here, especially during periods of low light.

Hooe says local anglers don't target the walleye population here, with most walleye catches incidental to fishing for other species.

Contact: (618) 393-4351.

KINKAID LAKE
The biggest problem anglers have with walleyes on this 2,335-acre southern Illinois lake is that crappie, bass and muskie fishing is so good that few, if any, who fish here have taken the time to figure Mr. Wally out.

DNR biologist Shawn Hirst has cranked up walleyes over 10 pounds in his spring fisheries surveys, with "good numbers of 18- to 23-inch walleyes present in the system."

Guide Al Nutty said, "standard walleye tactics like jigging and rigging simply won't work here," maintaining crankbaits tossed in pursuit of bass are about the only way folks ever see a walleye come from these Jackson County waters.

DNR fisheries survey data provides the biggest clue to walleye location. Hirst says he's only sampled walleyes consistently at the far north end where several tributaries enter, and near the spillway at the other end of the lake. Waters near the spillway are deep and clear. Waters near the upper end are turbid -- sometimes really turbid. Both walleye populations see virtually no fishing pressure.

Contact: Top of the Hill Bait Shop, (618) 684-2923.

EVERGREEN LAKE
This reservoir just north of Bloomington is somewhere between 975 and 1,100 acres, depending on the water table. Swimming in the slightly stained waters are bass, muskies, crappies and saugeyes of notable proportions.

Evergreen is the centerpiece of 686-acre Comlara County Park, which requires a $10 launch fee and has a 10-horsepower outboard limit in effect.

DNR surveys routinely note saugeyes -- a sauger/walleye hybrid -- in excess of the 8-pound, 7-ounce state-record mark. But as is the case in Kinkaid, fishing is so good for other species that nobody has taken the time to figure out the patterns of this walleye hybrid.

A major key has to be shad, a primain forage base in these waters. There are several steep breaklines near riprap and spillways, woody cover along the undeveloped shoreline, and good-looking main-lake points.

There are good camping facilities in the park, whispering a fishin' mission of several days' duration prior to Memorial Day weekend. Put in your time and success is part of the equation. A state record may be a bonus.

Contact: guide Duane Landmeier, (217) 286-7170.

PITTSFIELD CITY LAKE
This 241-acre reservoir located about three miles northeast of the city that bears its name has the largest population of walleyes over 5 pounds per surface acre in our state. Pittsfield has produced at least three walleyes over 12 pounds, with 10-pounders being an annual occurrence.