Mention "Illinois walleyes" to most well-traveled anglers and you'll likely get a discourse about the fabulous fishing in the Prairie State's rivers. Although ol' marble-eyes is not native to many state lakes and impoundments besides the Fox Chain-O-Lakes in northeast Illinois, our hatchery system has enabled biologists to establish solid walleye fisheries in a number of lakes across the state.

According to fisheries surveys, there are walleyes in Shabbona and Kinkaid right now that can break Fred Goseline's 14-pound state-record mark established in 1961. Although Shelbyville is a mere shell of the walleye lake it used to be, smart money says some of the relic walleye population still swimming here could break Goseline's mark as well. The same logic says a new record could be swimming in the Fox Chain-O-Lakes. After all, walleyes have been swimming here since before we started fishing for them.

Saugers aren't an intentional resident of any Illinois lakes. But sauger-walleye hybrids in excess of the current state record of 8 pounds, 7 ounces are swimming in both Evergreen Lake near Bloomington and tiny Lake Carlton in Whiteside County. The saugeye record is in greater jeopardy than perhaps any other state game-fish benchmark. Surveys over the years on 1,100-acre Evergreen have cranked up several saugeyes weighing more than the state record.

Many anglers have a recurring pipe dream about eclipsing a state record. If a genie granted me three wishes, breaking the state walleye record would certainly be one of them. What if you had just one wish and the genie appeared when you were tethered to a fish with a white spot on the tail about 35 inches away from where a jig had tenuous contact with the upper lip of a big green head? If your answer to this rhetorical question is something like "world peace," put down this magazine. But if you have a major habit of rippin' walleye lips, read on for a look at some of the best lakes to make your dreams come true in the months ahead.

FOX CHAIN-O-LAKES
Walleyes swim in every one of the 15 lakes of this natural chain in northeast Illinois. Of course, your chances are better of hooking up on some lakes than they are on others.

Department of Natural Resources fisheries surveys provide a good indicator of which waters hold the greatest walleye populations in the chain. Habitat parameters have a great impact on probable fish location, but perhaps the most important factor to consider is the predator-prey relationship.

Mention "walleye bait" and most anglers will say crawlers, leeches or minnows. But if insects are pelting the water in close proximity to walleyes, they are gonna eat insects. And if a bunch of little frogs decide to venture away from the safety of shoreline weeds where walleyes are cruising, a frog-pattern popper will almost certainly outfish the juiciest jumbo leech.

Walleyes are opportunists. Areas of current flow between lakes are a source of easy food, so the walleyes are seldom far away. Their design by the Creator with those big opaque eyes gives these fish an advantage for feeding in low light. This is why the night-bite is so productive.