Lake mattoon

[init 4 the CATFIGHTS]

I was just wondering if anyone is going to try mattoon lake this weekeng? With the weather change i'm wondering if its worth going out. I'm new to this site, and I really like all the knowledge and feedback you get!

[IL_CATFISH]

I was just wondering if anyone is going to try mattoon lake this weekeng? With the weather change i'm wondering if its worth going out. I'm new to this site, and I really like all the knowledge and feedback you get!

do you fish mattoon regularly?

[DeerHunter01]

I hear mattoon is one of the best catfishing lakes going,they catch alot of big ones there good luck fishing.

[IL_CATFISH]

I hear mattoon is one of the best catfishing lakes going,they catch alot of big ones there good luck fishing.

nah, theres no catfish in there :roll_eyes:

[DeerHunter01]

Yeah right my buddy Chuck catches 30 to 40 catfish a evening out of there and some over 50 # s he is a catfish Guru from IL.. :lol:

[IL_CATFISH]

Yeah right my buddy Chuck catches 30 to 40 catfish a evening out of there and some over 50 # s he is a catfish Guru from IL.. :lol:

Has he caught blues and flattys in there or something? I have only heard of people catching em in there. I've never seen any though.

[DeerHunter01]

Channels and Flatheads he catches in there, you should look him up on here, he goes by Chuckb he is the wizard of all catfishermen..lol Honest he is good people he lives in Pana area.

[IL_CATFISH]

do you fish mattoon regularly?

sure do, I was actually drifting lake paradise yesterday which is basically the old lake of the area before they damned up lake mattoon. Not much luck yesterday. Seemed like we were getting a lot of passive bites.

[DeerHunter01]

Did you just answer your own question ?? LMAO :lol:

[IL_CATFISH]

Did you just answer your own question ?? LMAO :lol:


HAHAHA, its the end of the fiscal year. My brains fried. I have caught myself talking to.....myself quiet a bit lately :tounge_out:

[IL_CATFISH]

Channels and Flatheads he catches in there, you should look him up on here, he goes by Chuckb he is the wizard of all catfishermen..lol Honest he is good people he lives in Pana area.

I'll have to look him up. Thanks partner

[rodpod]

Lake Matoon is awesome, probably the best catfishing lake in Illinois...If you havent been there you need to get there ASAP. Ask chuckb the local catfish wizard for all of the hotspots....

[IL_CATFISH]

Lake Matoon is awesome, probably the best catfishing lake in Illinois...If you havent been there you need to get there ASAP. Ask chuckb the local catfish wizard for all of the hotspots....

Mattoon is a very good lake but have you ever fished Newton? Wow, you have to find the areas where the water temp is right (varies all year) otherwise you'll just catch fiddlers all day. Man, its a work out.

[Redtick]

Lake Mattoon has a few cats but it is certainly not the best catfishing lake in Illinois. I fish alot of the area lakes and big catfish can be caught in most of them if you know what you are doing. Lake Mattoon has around 1200 boats registered on a 1000 acre lake. It is overfished. I fish it some because I live on it but there are other places I fish where I have good luck and catch big catfish. Ole ChuckB could be spreading a myth.:big_smile: C'mon Chuck, a 50# catfish out of Lake Mattoon?
And, there are no blue catfish in Lake Mattoon.

[Chuckb]

Redtick I think these guys are yankin IL Catfish and my chain a little lol.:big_smile: There aren't hardly any fish in Mattoon Lake at all but you can sure as heck find a bunch of speed boats! Have you been doing any good lately? I have been thinkin about going back up to the Mouth of the Kaskaskia but I don't know how much water is there.

[DeerHunter01]

Posted by : Redtick
Lake Mattoon has a few cats


Posted by Chuckb
There aren't hardly any fish in Mattoon Lake at all



You know when I see two fishermen like yourselfs talking like this, thats the Lake I would fish because both of you are full of it !! If I put what you two are spreading here I could fill up my truck..lol Time to go fishing boys to Mattoon Lake !! :ooooh:

[Redtick]

Deerhunter, have you ever heard the expression the only time you can believe a coonhunter is when he calls another coonhunter a liar? Of course coonhunters are not like fishermen, are they?:big_smile:
I certainly wasn't spreading anything about the 1200 boats or that it is hammered to death. Lots and lots of folks fish Lake Mattoon.
Chuck, I was trolling some crankbaits the other day and had some boys in a ski boat play chicken with me. The hooks in the crankbait almost hooked the skier. I have been catching more cats with crankbaits than any other way but you take your life in your own hands trying to troll a crankbait in the lake.
I fish it some because it is 50 feet from my frontdoor but I often load my boat to go somewhere else. Y'all can do whatever turns you on.

[IL_CATFISH]

Redtick I think these guys are yankin IL Catfish and my chain a little lol.:big_smile: There aren't hardly any fish in Mattoon Lake at all but you can sure as heck find a bunch of speed boats! Have you been doing any good lately? I have been thinkin about going back up to the Mouth of the Kaskaskia but I don't know how much water is there.

Chuck, the kaskaskia has been several feet low lately. Some of my buddies have some lines and bank poles in over there and they havent even been baiting up due to the poor fishing results. However, I just heard on the radio that they are supposed to be getting about 5 inches of rain over by monticello tonight and you know exactly where all of that water is going. I would have been a good night to have been baited up.

You guys are right about lake mattoon. There is a ton of traffic and it is a pain in the arse. Also, it seems the management is poor. You rarely see any CPR on this lake unless it is one during one of those crazy arse bass tournys with all them guys from the chicago area (One stinkin article in the IL fish and game mag ruined that lake). To be honest with you I would just as soon fish lake paradise. Theres never any traffic and its a 10 horse limit lake. I dont mind telling you guys cause I know that very few of you will hit it anyways. If you guys need any info on where to net shad or where the holes are just let me know.

For you guys that know lake mattoon, how bout the crappie population there? Man has it taken a hit lately. No size or creel limt. What a joke!

[Redtick]

Joe, the Lake Mattoon lake supervisor and Lake Policeman is a very good, hard working fellow. He just has too much to do. He eats a few crappie and cats that I catch occasionally.
Yes, Chuck, watch the Champaign weather reports. When it floods in Champaign, later that day and/or the next day, the fishing can be very good in the fish hook area of Lake Shelbyville north of Bruce. Anything that works at Lake Mattoon will work at Shelbyville. And, where Whitley Creek comes into the lake and the old creek channel (where it is flooded) is a good place to fish for channels. I used to go up into the creek and fish the creek bends and would catch a ton of channels up in there. They are there. The flathead in my avatar came from that area, it weighed 60 pounds. It is a bigger area to fish but has much more and much bigger fish. You just have to find them.:big_smile:
I want everyone to know I have met Chuck and I like him. We have very similar fishing rigs. I would go fishing with him but I like fishing alone. That's just me.:crazy:
Hey, Chuck, do you have GPS on your boat? I just got a GPS outfit that hooks into my Hummingbird and I am busy putting a few waypoints on it. I can upload them to a file on my computer. But, I won't be posting that file on any fishing message board.:big_smile: Again, that's just me.:crazy: