Taxidermist Don Rich Jr. already has my deposit and a gold-plated clip-stringer. All I have to do is head to Crivitz and catch the fish.

Contact: Hook, Line & Sinker Bait Shop; www.crivitzrecreation.com.

DELAVAN LAKE
For the past several years, southern Wisconsin anglers have been waiting for the hot multi-species action in this 2,072-acre Walworth County lake to go belly-up. But there is simply no ice from Madison south that consistently produces like Delavan.

Pike of dreadnaught dimensions swim here. The walleyes aren't monsters, but you can expect to take home a three-fish limit of 18-inch-plus fish using either tip-ups or a jig pole. The panfish are really, really nice. Expect a mixed bag of jumbo perch, slab crappies and whopping big 'gills.

Savvy anglers have resorted to "reverse prevarication" downstate over the past several winters. When anybody questions an ice-angler on where he caught a bucketful of nice panfish, its easier to just say, "Delavan" than to tell the truth because those inquiring will accuse you of catching the fish on Delavan anyway.

The ice off of any main-lake point will usually produce a mixed bag during daylight hours. Slab crappies are the real draw. If you want to be species-specific for slabs, fish at night off of Willow Point with a Hali Jig or a Li'l Cecil.

Look for the fish on electronics 12 to 26 feet down, fishing above the blips. Even though it's a night bite, 1-pound-test will result in more hook-ups than heavier line.

Contact: Delavan Chamber of Commerce, 1-800-624-0052 or www.delavanwi.org.

LAKE KOSHKONONG
Walleyes are the main draw on this 10,400-acre shallow basin lake straddling the Jefferson/Rock county line in southern Wisconsin. You may catch a pike or even a slab crappie on a tip-up here. But it's the walleyes in this slow-moving stretch of the Rock River that bring anglers from miles around.

A midlake rockpile east of Thiebeau Point is essentially the only permanent fish-holding structure in this enigmatic lake. There are a couple of weedbeds, too, that may draw fish through the end of this month. But the weeds tend to die off once heavy snowcover blankets the lake, causing walleyes to cruise elsewhere looking for food.

There really is no prime time to be on the ice here. Some anglers like to fish all night. Others find success at midday. Shiners and fathead minnows are both effective baits when fished about 30 inches below the tip-up's windlass on a No. 8 treble hook with 10-pound-test monofilament and a split shot pegged about six inches above the bait.

Those fishing daylight hours use round tip-ups or some form of hole cover to eliminate light penetration. Most set their "boards" in a triangle about 50 feet apart. Most of the main-lake basin is a uniform 6 feet deep, with fish always on the move after food and away from noise caused by people on the ice.

Walleyes here can be both spooky and pensive. Often they will take the bait, tripping a flag, then wait several minutes before actually deciding to move away from the hole.

DNR fisheries manager Don Bush said Koshkonong's biomass is in "near perfect balance" as we get serious about ice-fishing. Conventional wisdom of the angling fraternity says this will be the winter when honest 10-pounders come through the ice. There are several solid year-classes of walleyes in the system now, with good numbers of 26- to 30-inch fish.

Contact: UCatch 'Em Bait & Tackle, (608) 754-7976 or via e-mail, ucatchembait@mcleodusa.net.

VILAS COUNTY
If you believe the finest eating on this planet is a mess of butterfly-fileted perch taken through the ice on a north-country lake, plan a road trip to Vilas County this winter. North Twin and South Twin lakes south of Phelps are better known as one of the state's top muskie waters during summer months. Almost nobody targets perch in the summer, with fewer anglers fishing for them astride a five-gallon bucket.