LAKE SHELBYVILLE
Lake Shelbyville -- an 11,100-acre impoundment in Shelby and Moultrie counties, off Route 121 just south of Bethany -- was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for flood control. Walleyes have been stocked in this impoundment since 1994. Many fish in the 8-pound-plus category were weighed during a 2003 fish survey. Just two years later, a fish survey in 2005 found even better results, with many 24-inch fish and better numbers, as well as fish in the 12- to 20-inch range. There is little doubt among many Illinois anglers that Lake Shelbyville holds a state-record walleye!

An average walleye angler’s best chance for success lies just off the old flooded Kaskaskia River channel where it enters the lake at its north end and leaves the lake at its south end. You’ll need a depthfinder to locate the old river-channel edges. Riprap near bridges and the dam area also hold good numbers of walleyes, and the mouths of any of Shelbyville’s small feeder streams are also excellent bets in May.

The statewide walleye creel and length limit -- six fish and a 14-inch minimum length -- applies at Shelbyville. Multiple marinas with boat rentals and numerous boat ramps and picnic and camping areas are found at many sites on the big lake. Boat motor restrictions are not in place.

EXPERT WALLEYE-FISHING TIPS
It’s been said that 85 percent of anglers who fish for walleyes say they are not catching as many fish as they would like. The other 15 percent are liars!

Walleyes have been described as nomadic, contrary and finicky. Here’s some fundamental professional walleye fishing advice from one of Illinois’ own -- Terry Mayhall, Cabela’s 2007 Master Walleye Circuit Champion.

“The best advice I can give any want-to-be walleye fisherman is to buy good line,” Mayhall says. “Too many guys either don’t change their line from year to year or fail to buy quality line. Poor line will not survive a walleye’s teeth or the initial hook-set on a 3-pound-plus fish.”

Anglers who are going to get serious about walleye fishing, he adds, need a quality depthfinder and a midline GPS (global positioning system). “This equipment is required for locating structure and marking it, so time is not lost finding it later in the day or on a return trip,” Mayhall explains.

In early- to mid-spring, Mayhall and his tournament partner, Tony Dowiatt of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, troll or cast minnow-tipped jigs at the mouths of a lake’s feeder streams or near shoreline dropoffs. When the water warms to 50 degrees and higher in late spring, they tip their jigs with night crawlers.

Walleyes are recognized as bottom-dwellers, but these are not the fish Mayhall and Dowiatt search out.

“Tony and I look for walleyes suspended near baitfish or ones feeding near shoreline dropoffs or other structure where baitfish are present,” Mayhall says. “If jigs tipped with live bait fail to catch fish that have already fed, we throw or troll crankbaits and look for reaction strikes (as opposed to feeding strikes).”

The two best crankbaits for walleyes, according to Mayhall, are the Rapala No. 7 Shad Rap and the Rapala No. 11 Original Floating Minnow. His preferred crankbait color pattern depends on the lake.

“If gizzard or threadfin shad are present, we use silver Rapalas. If the primary meals for walleyes in a lake are bluegills or other panfish, we try orange, blue and chartreuse, or baits with a combination of those colors.”

Lastly, Mayhall advises that a top-quality fishing rod is essential for successful walleye fishing.

“A walleye rod needs to be soft-tipped (flexible) and made from high-modular graphite,” he explains. “Tony and I fish tournaments with 6-foot, 3-inch and 6-foot, 6-inch St. Croix rods of moderate to moderate-fast action.” Without a good rod, Mayhall says, an angler will never know when a light-biting walleye is testing his bait.

The “when” for walleyes is now and the “where” is one of Illinois’ Super 6 lakes. The “how” is patience, persistence and good equipment and the right baits. Go get ‘em, anglers!