Lake Washington is located northeast of Mankato and southeast of St. Peter. It has two nice concrete public accesses. For more information, visit the Greater Mankato Chamber of Commerce's Web site at www.greatermankato.com

LOON & CRYSTAL LAKES
This mini-chain just southwest of Mankato off Highway 60 consists of 400-acre Lake Crystal and 755-acre Loon Lake. Both lakes are shallow and have very little underwater structure.

"On Loon, you basically just want to fish the rockpile in the middle of the lake, while on Crystal, you want to just keep moving because it's nothing but a bowl," Quandt said.

The small point on the east side near where Loon flows into Crystal is a good location because it extends far into the lake.

Quandt said the same tactics that work on Washington also work on Loon and Crystal, because perch and golden shiners are also the major food sources of walleyes here.

Crystal has a small city-run public access on the southwest shore, while Loon is accessible by a DNR ramp on the southwest shore. For more information, check out the city of Lake Crystal's Web page at www.ci.lake-crystal.mn.us

LAKE ELYSIAN
Almost 2,000 acres in size with a maximum depth of 13 feet hardly sounds like a walleye factory, but Waterville DNR fisheries specialist Dave Weitzel said Elysian is a tremendous 'eye fishery. He should know, because it's close to his office.

"The lake offers a high abundance of walleyes, and they are fast growing, meaning that even in their third or fourth year, they are prime walleyes from 16 to 18 inches in length," Weitzel said.

With a report like that, it's no wonder you can count up to 150 boats on the lake, especially during the first few weekends of the fishing season.

"Like other lakes down here, they are shallow and prone to winterkill, so it's hard to sustain a long-term fishery," Weitzel said, adding, "but with such high growth rates, we can produce a lot of fish in only a year or two."

House said he enjoys the fantastic fishing in Elysian. He generally works it by using a floating Rattlin' Rogue on the few sprouts of green cabbage and coontail weeds.

"I'll work a few spots, marking the ones where I caught walleyes, and then go back with a slower presentation like a jig and plastic Vibra King Tube or Rib Worm," House added.

More information on the area can be found at www.elysianmn.com.

BIG STONE LAKE
With 12,000 acres of water, 14 boat landings and over 20 million walleye fry stocked since 2000, Big Stone Lake is an 'eye angler's dream come true. A strong 2004 year-class is spread out across this border water with South Dakota, so everybody should be catching large walleyes this summer.

"Big Stone is a great walleye lake, with a ton of water to fish," said Jim Rasset of Bud's Bait and Tackle on Highway 12 in the heart of Ortonville on the south end of Big Stone.