Life is too short. If you don't think so, try fishing every lake and river in Wisconsin in a lifetime. With 26,000 miles of rivers, two Great Lakes and over 1 million surface acres of inland waters, you would have to fish 200 days a year for 40 years to hit 'em all.

Take it from a guy who has been fishing this hard for this long already. It can't be done. Why? Because we have so much water that you'll want to fish more than once a week, not once in a lifetime!

If dedicating your life to a fishin' mission seems like a good plan, the following are 36 super places to try in the 12 months ahead.

JANUARY
St. Germain: Panfish
Plum and both Big and Little St. Germain lakes in the heart of Wisconsin's northwoods offer a variety of panfish species to probe for.

This time of year the key to success lies in mobility. Keep moving until you get into a mess of respectable perch, crappies or bluegills. Fish tend to school by year-class. If you're catching 7-inch bluegills, 9-inchers may be just another 50 feet down the weedline.

Dark-colored baits that can be fished in a horizontal presentation seem to work best. New plastics like those Lindy Techni-Glow Tails often work better than live bait.

Contact: St. Germain Chamber of Commerce, 1-800-727-7203.

Lake Columbia: Channel Cats
This cooling lake near Portage in southern Wisconsin is just about your only open-water option when Old Man Winter arrives. When power is being generated, you can have a ball catching channel catfish on small bluegills from shore. Catching this bait can be accomplished right in the shoreline rocks with a tiny ice jig.

Nelson: Lake Panfish
This popular Hayward area lake has produced two state-record bluegills over the years, with jumbo crappies also present. Target natural wood and fish cribs. Watch for crowds of anglers. Nelson is hot no matter how cold it gets.

FEBRUARY
Lake Koshkonong: Walleyes
DNR fisheries biologist Don Bush says there are more than six adult walleyes per surface acre swimming in this shallow basin straddling the Jefferson-Rock county line. Some of these fish are approaching trophy proportions.

The keys to success are simple: target waters at least 5 feet deep, use tip-ups baited with shiners or rosy reds and stay away from the crowds! Time of day isn't as important as time on the water. Move until you find them and be ready to move on when the fish move. Contact: U-Catch Em Bait, (608) 754-7976.

Milwaukeee: Brown Trout
Changing winds can clear ice overnight, providing a great opportunity for brown trout from shore using alewives, spawn sacs or Little Cleo spoons. Milwaukee Harbor can be good, but last winter those waters just east of the Summerfest grounds were the place to be. The Oak Creek discharge is a fish magnet, with a mixed bag possible from a small boat if the wind is out of the west. Extreme caution is advised.

Big Green Lake: Lakers
A February lake trout outing with Capt. Mike Norton on our deepest inland lake is a great way to stymie the midwinter blues. Heated shacks and simple tactics lend themselves to storytelling between bites. Don't forget the grill. Contact: (920) 295-3617.

MARCH
Mississippi River: Saugers
This walleye cousin with the desert camo paint job is stacked by the bajillions below every dam on the Mississippi right now, with a six-fish daily limit and no size restriction in place.

Target the yellow "bullnose" areas where slack water meets fast water. Saugers are notorious bait thieves. Using a stinger hook and impaling a minnow through the lips and out through the back will net you more fish. No-stretch superlines like Berkley FireLine and a sensitive IM-7 graphite rod are part of the fish-catching equation.

Contact: Cap'n Hook's bait shop, (608) 752-5552 or www.in-depthangling.com.

Lac Vieux Desert: Crappies
Any remaining green weeds are the biggest key to finding slabs on what may be our best multi-species lake. Electronics and a 4-wheeler are part of the picture. You'll need to move around to find active fish, but once you do, remember that the limit is 25 fish. A tiny jig-spinner called the L'il Cecil is a secret weapon here. You'll find the crappies suspended along the weed edge about halfway down.

East Coast: Steelhead
Runoff is the major key to fish movement inland into Lake Michigan tributaries. Wait about three days after a weather event, then sneak along the banks to drift spawn sacs through deeper holes. Wear your camo clothing and polarized glasses.

APRIL
Fox River: Walleyes
If you're looking for a wall-hanger walleye, April is the time and those waters just downstream from the De Pere Dam on Fox River are the place where it all comes together.

Take a bucketful of fire-tiger ShadRaps, ThunderSticks and No. 13 Rapalas. The new jointed ShadRap is a killer. Put in your time and hooking up is inevitable. But De Pere is no secret. It's elbow-to-elbow with anglers. Resist the temptation of keeping a foul-hooked fish. Walleyes are so thick below the dam that you're going to inadvertently snag fish. But keeping a snagged fish will result in a quick ticket from the DNR warden.

Lake Kegonsa: Bluegills
About 10 days after ice-out, whopping big bluegills start cruising the shoreline around Quam Point. Use light line, stealth and a small black jig pegged about 3 feet under a little float and keep moving until you find 'em. Nine-inchers are common, and 10-inch 'gills are not out of the question.

Door County: Brown Trout
Every harbor on both sides of the Door Peninsula draws in brown trout during April. Long-line trolling with Little Cleos or stickbaits is a sound attack plan. Baileys Harbor is probably your best bet, with Sawyer Harbor near Sturgeon Bay a close second. But then there is Fish Creek. Remember, if your line is in the water, you are a weapon.