Folks at the Top of the Hill Bait Shop can point you in the right direction. Their phone number is (618) 684-2923.

Pike County and walleye destination are seldom used in the same sentence, but if you have a 10-horsepower outboard on a small boat and don’t mind traveling down hilly, curvy, bumpy gravel roads for several hours to reach rural western Illinois, Pittsfield City Lake earns our lowest per-acre odds of tangling with a walleye of trophy proportions.

This 241-acre lake produces 10-pound walleyes every year. The lake walleye record is nearly 13 pounds, just a couple of bluegills shy of the state record There are good boat ramps on both the east and north sides of the lake.

For at least the next couple of weeks, casting crankbaits toward the shoreline will put you within striking distance of most of this little lake’s walleye population. Fish weighing less than 6 pounds don’t even rate a Polaroid photo on the wall of Neff’s Bait Shop in nearby Griggsville. The phone number is (217) 833-2178.

Johnson Lake in the Banner Marsh complex southwest of Peoria is easier to access and tougher to fish, but it’s worth probing for walleyes. At 600 acres, Johnson is the largest of the three lakes that make up the lion’s share of fisheries on this wildlife management complex.

Marsh isn’t an accurate description of this clear strip pit lake with a maximum depth of about 60 feet. Deep weed edges and rocky points hold at least four adult year-classes of walleyes. Fish in the dominant year-class are in the 4- to 7-pound range, with recent IDNR fisheries surveys yielding specimens in excess of 10 pounds.

All three lakes in the Banner Marsh complex located near Highway 9/24 have good boat ramps, but a 25-horsepower motor restriction is in effect on these waters.

Johnson Lake’s clarity is similar to that found on 935-acre East Fork Lake near Olney in the southeastern part of the state. East Fork’s bass population gets much more attention than the walleye fishery, although the habitat parameters of this fishery are about the closest thing Illinois has to classic north country walleye structure.

At least four adult year-classes of walleyes are swimming in East Fork according to the IDNR; however, several year-classes over the past dozen years have been weak to the point of being almost nonexistent. As a result, you may catch a mess of 15- to 17-inch “eaters” or you may catch an ‘eye that justifies an immediate trip to the taxidermist, but not much in between.

Consistent success on these fish requires extreme stealth with live bait definitely advantageous. Try a lighted slip-bobber or Lindy rig with at least a 4-foot leader baited with a jumbo leech during periods of low light.

East Fork Lake is managed by the city of Olney and as is the case with many lakes managed by municipalities or counties, special regulations are in effect. Launch fees are based on the horsepower of your boat. Access decals are available at city hall.

Many Illinois state parks feature a lake as the main attraction. The lakes are typically maintained with supplemental stocking by the IDNR with limit catches or consistently large walleye-family fish the exception rather than the rule. Two park lakes -- Dawson Lake in Moraine View State Park near Bloomington and Forbes Lake in Stephen A. Forbes State Park in Marion County -- stand out from the rest.