Coffeen lake in Il.- Any luck catfishing?

[bondman]

Just wondering if anyone was having any luck on this lake? I was thinking about heading that way and doing some bank fishing. I have fished this lake in the past and was just wondering if they are doing any good there yet?
what bait is working the best?
thanks
bondman

[Whistler]

Fished that lake a couple of times last year with Chuck and it's a really great lake. Didn't catch much though, but they're there that's for sure. I had a blast drifting Lake Mattoon for channel cats though. That was a blast. Might just have to come up again when the weather is right and do that again.

[Chuckb]

Wish I could help you Henry but I haven't been there since Nov.I have my best luck there drifting with cut bluegill.

[eogden]

Hey Henry,

Last report I had were cats were fair to good on dip bait & nightcrawlers.
Hope in the next few weeks to get the chance to go some night.
How have you been? It'll be good to fish with you again.

Later
Eric

[Whistler]

Wish I could help you Henry but I haven't been there since Nov.I have my best luck there drifting with cut bluegill.

LOL, now it's my turn. He really meant to say he has his best luck there when I'm not there. Funny how that works! And he always orders cold weather if I'm coming up to fish. LOL

[catmankev]

The lake has limited bank fishing access from what I remember. Crawfish, cut bluegill and stink bait worked best for me.

[bearcat]

Hey Henry and eric. We need to get out to coffeen sometime.

Hey henry if you still have my phone number give me a call.

I would imagine that the fish like always are biting fairly good. Seems like they always are.

[eogden]

Hey Bearcat and Henry,

I feel the need! Started with a new company in November & have been so busy with training that I haven't had time for anything else. Great company though with a support system out of this world. I'm only covering 3 counties now & am down to 200-400 mi. a week instead of the 1500. Even found out I've got a wife & kids again!

When do the blues start coming upon behind the Alton lock & dam? If the temp keeps rising I would think that a person could do some good before long.
I'm open to about anything. Just let me know.
Later
Eric

[bearcat]

Hey Eric Glad to hear about the new company. Maybe wih henry back in country we can get back to fish this year like before. I am game when ever. Just let me know.

[bondman]

I went fished (got a line wet) and had a good time. Only caught 1 channel (my brother caught it) i caught a couple of non targeted sub species :mad: .. My friend that works there has since told me that the plant is down it is expected to come back on line around the first week of February. was using shrimp and cut shad for bait.
Bondman

[Chuckb]

Henry, were you bank fishing or in a boat? Do you know what the water temp was?

[bwolcott]

where is lake coffeen at? what is it close to?

[bondman]

all right I am going to give the lake another try. The power plant should be back on line I am going to use shrimp again as my brother caught his fish on them.
Bondman

[bearcat]

Hey Charles first off welcome to the BOC.

Coffeen lake is just north of you about 1 hour. It is located about 15 miles south east of Hillsboro. Hillsboro is located 14 miles east of litchfield which is right on RT 55.

Coffeen lake is just east of rt 127 just north of donelson IL. If you were to drive north on rt 127 when you get about a half mile north of donelson there are signs that direct you to the lake. It takes a little wondering around because none of the roads are straight but you will get there.

I hope this helps.

[bearcat]

Hey Henry I can see the smoke stack is releasing steam again. I hope that means the plant is up and running again. I can also see that Sangchris is blowning out steam.

[bwolcott]

Bear cat i'll be coming up that way as soon as it gets warm to see what coffeen has to offer. do you fish there often? is it a good place to take my kids? is there a Coffeen exit sign on I-55?

[bearcat]

Hey Bwolcott First off. No there is no exit for coffeen at rt55. You would need to take the litchfield exit. Then take RT 16 to hillsboro. The rt 127 to rt185 to the coffeen lake exit. Get a map and check it out.

I havent fished there very much . It is a nice lake. It is a power cooling lake. So the water gets warm early and during the summer it is hot. It is managed by the state of IL conservation department. It would be a place to take the kids. It has a few bank fishing spots but mostly a boat fishing lake. There is a 25 hp limit for boats. I would recomend that you check it out. Lots of people fish it and always catch something.

[ultima_cat_man]

i fish coffeen alot and plan on going the next warm weekend im free, when the channel cats start biting you almost have to fish with one pole there is so much action, but the fish are on the small size 98% of the channels you catch are under 3 pounds which is perfect for eating,, flatheads are a differnt story they run big and mean, but you gotta do some work on catching them,, tim

[Redtick]

I drove through Hillsboro on my way to Litchfield yesterday (2/10/06) and saw the stacks smoking. So the plant must be running.

[bondman]

I will be checking with a friend that works there.... I hope that the weather gives me a break this week as I plan to try it again IF the plant is up and running that is.. so I am hoping to get a few for the skillet.. will keep you all informed.
Bondman

[bearcat]

Hey Henry If you go later in the week let me know. I just might beable to get away for a little while and join you.

[bondman]

Tim,I will let you know. I am doing a welding project with my brother actually trying to get a business started. I am going to wait and see what the weather looks like say wed- thur afternoon will let you know how it looks closer to those days.
Bondman

[bwolcott]

i'll hit that up one weekend i'll drive out there and fish all weekend and see what i come up with thanks again for all the help.

[bondman]

The power plant is up and running!!! My brother and I went out wed and he caught 3 channels on shrimp I had a couple of bites but caught nothing. used stink bait and shrimp the shrimp seemed to be the only thing they went for. But with the power plant producing some heat now I would have to say they will turn on good there in the next week. If the weather holds out..
keep you informed as to when they get going good.
Bondman

[bondman]

Fishing report for COFFEEN LAKE, This was this first time that we put a boat in at coffeen lake The lake is way down but I didn't know how down it iwas until we got to the boat ramp. So if you plan on going to this lake remember that the ramp ends at the end of the docks. Ok for the report the channels where starting to heat up, the water temp was in the 70's in the coves we fished. using shrimp and sonnys for bait. a few where caught but nothing like what we was hoping for. The biggest we caught was over 1 1/2 pounds and not very many fish over a pound must was small fish I cant remember the last time i have seen coffeen give up so many small channels and i mean small 8-10 inches so we did the catch and release. The others on the lake was fishing for b@## and c@$&&*e they where doing better then I have seen for a while on that lake. even with all the wind it was still a good time.

[Flyingpig]

Went to Coffeen Lake bank fishing from Carlock Point on Tues. 2/28 and Wed. 3/1.
Both of these days were beautiful, but breezy (got sunburned 3/1).

We were only able to catch one Channel cat that was around a pound on Tuesday.

After a quick stop at the Catfish Connection (http://www...................com) on Wednesday we took an arsenal of baits with us, and headed for Coffeen again.
We tried Danny King's w/ garlic, Junnie's Wicked Sticky, Lucky-7, Garlic Chicken Livers, and Nightcrawlers.

Had lots of fish play with all the baits, but had nothing we were able to get a hook into.
When the wind picked up around late afternoon, everything seemed to stop all together.

This was the first time we had ever been to Coffeen, and even though it's only 40 mi. from home I had never been to the lake.

All I can say is, we had a blast, we met some good people on the bank and on the water and we had a good time.
So even though we didn't bring any fish home, it was still a good trip.

Now all I have to do is get my little boat going, so when I start my vacation in a week, we can get on the lake instead of from the bank.

[bearcat]

Hey Charlie. When you get a boat on the lake try going south towards the dam. The go back into the small coves and cast in to the back of them. That is where we had luck when fish there before. You dont have to go up the hot water ditch to catch them. If you have a thermometer look for water in the 55 to 65 degrees. It seems like the bigger fish stay away from the real hot water. Hope this helps

[bondman]

Charlie, I most likely saw you on the bank tuesday we was back in the hot water arm. They was going crazy on shrimp and cut shad caught all we wanted then went and played with the bass for awhile caught some of them also. Like bearcat said you dont have to go the hot water arm to catch them. but the next time you are at carlock point try fishing off to the left as you are standing on the point facing the power plant.DEEP hole there. when you get your boat in there and if you do go up the hot water arm all the way back right before the no boat bouys is a cove to the right park on the bank and fish in the mouth of that cove hold on almost lost a pole there Tuesday.. Good luck
Bondman

[Flyingpig]

Bearcat, thanks for the tip... I told my buddy that was with me that I wondered if the fishing would be better up around the dam and back up in them coves.
We did get told on Wednesday that up by the hot water ditch is where the catfish were biting, but I'm not a really big fan of parking along the side of the road where we were told to.
Thanks again.

Hey Charlie. When you get a boat on the lake try going south towards the dam. The go back into the small coves and cast in to the back of them. That is where we had luck when fish there before. You dont have to go up the hot water ditch to catch them. If you have a thermometer look for water in the 55 to 65 degrees. It seems like the bigger fish stay away from the real hot water. Hope this helps

[Flyingpig]

I was the short chubby guy with the white hat out on the point under the power lines.:grin-big:
Thanks Bondman, we can use all the help we can get. Like I said, we had never been to Coffeen before and really didn't know where to go.
I start my vacation on the 3/9 and have plans of getting to Coffeen again. This time where bringing the boat. I got a little semi-v fishing boat with a 5.5 that will work pretty good on Coffeen, just not big enough for Shelbyville. Thanks again for the tips...

Charlie, I most likely saw you on the bank tuesday we was back in the hot water arm. They was going crazy on shrimp and cut shad caught all we wanted then went and played with the bass for awhile caught some of them also. Like bearcat said you dont have to go the hot water arm to catch them. but the next time you are at carlock point try fishing off to the left as you are standing on the point facing the power plant.DEEP hole there. when you get your boat in there and if you do go up the hot water arm all the way back right before the no boat bouys is a cove to the right park on the bank and fish in the mouth of that cove hold on almost lost a pole there Tuesday.. Good luck
Bondman

[bearcat]

Hey Henry Scott and I are going fishing saturday morning march 4. If you can make it give scott a call .

[Chuckb]

Don't catch em all, I am going Sunday morning.

[bearcat]

Hey Chuck. We left a bunch for you. If you see this before you go try the hot ditch. There is a cove on the south right before you get to the no boat bouys. We caught a couple of nice ones there. Lots of current also. I wold think you could drift it also. Good luck.

[eogden]

Hey Bearcat,
Glad you guys had a good day. We were at Vandalia wrestling today at sectionals. 400 kids there! Jordan got pinned in his 1st match but at least it was against the kid ranked 4th in the state.
The hunny is making her list but I'm lobbying for some fishing time!


Eric

[bearcat]

Hey Eric good to hear from you. How is jordan doing so far this year.

I hope the hunny do doesnt get to long. I was over your way last sunday. Went ou to konnekers to see what they had on the sell. Then went home thru the country to see the long wall damage. WOW is all I can say. To think that is what they want to do to 200,000 acres in montgomery county.

Talk to you later.

[eogden]

Hey Bearcat,

Jordan had an okay year. Ranked 24th in 122lb class for 10yr olds for State Midget Championships. He didn't have as good ayear as he could have. The only other kid in his weight division on our team quit right after Christmas so he didn't have a partner to practice with. He wound up training with a kid 30lbs lighter than him. Good for the other kid but not good for Jordan because he had to be gentle the entire practice season & couldn't really tune up for tournaments.
I know where you looked at the long wall operation at. All I can say is don't let the first look be your last. After a panel is completed Monterey has been going in & recutting the drainage ditches & retiling to match the new ground conture. I don't know what the company for Montgomery Co. project is proposing to do but I can tell you that it has been a plus over here. Without it the mine would have closed 7 years ago. Monterey has always been a good neighbor & a boon to the community.
Monterey also bought all the surface area that they long walled under. The farmers are still farming it & after the project is completed, the restoration takes place & the farmers are given 1st option of buy back at an extremely low price.
The area you saw was about the only flat piece of ground that was mined under. On the rolling ground you just can't tell the difference.

Eric

[ultima_cat_man]

with all the intrest in coffeen lake we should have a coffeen lake day,,, did you guys put your boats in at the public ramp, how low is the lake, last time i was there it was 5 foot low... tim

[bearcat]

Hey Ultima. Yes we put in at the public ramp. The lake is at least 5 to 6 ft low.

[bearcat]

Hey Eric.

The long walling here in montgomery wont be as good for us. The county sold the coal rights to the mine company. They are not paying the farmers anything but damages. The coal company is bring the miners with them. No one new will be hired. They said no one here is qualified to mine. The land in montgomery county is mostly flat. It will be a nite mare to farm ever again. They claim they will return the ground to like it was before the mine went thru. IMHO they cant. It will never be flat or level again. There are farms that dont even have subsidence rights anymore. They will really be screwed. The mine company dont have to do anything for them. The worst part is the county government basicly gave the coal away tot he coal company. It works out to several pennies a ton when the value on the open market is around 35 $ a ton. Like always the government gives natural resources away and the big companys make billions and the little guy gets screwed. I will get off my soap box. It just makes me mad that we will lost 200,000 acres of highly productive montgomery county land.

[eogden]

Bearcat,

That is a shame. I guess we have been spoiled by Monterey. As I said, you couldn't have asked for a better neighbor. They have alsways been involved with the community, with aid to the local hospital when it was in trouble, scholarships, donations to the city pool, etc.
Perhaps if more companies were concerned with being a part of the community instead of just using it up, people would welcome them in.
As for no one being qualified, I am asuming that they are talking about longwall mining specifically. It is different. Monterey brought people in from Australia to train our local miners. Once trained though the aussies went home.
Will they still mine if they have to use room & pillar? You guys are sitting on a huge slug of coal in Montgomery County with potential sales tax revenues in the millions of dollars as well as the potential for another power plant.
Hope it can all be worked out.
Eric

[bearcat]

Hey Eric The coal company at first said that if there was alot of opposition they would room and pillar. Now they claim if they dont long wall they will not mine.

The acted like they would bring in permenant long wall miners to run equip. Dont know for sure.

As for as tax revenue. There is supposed to be over 500 million ton of coal. If that is how much comes out of the ground the county is set to recieve 7.5 million revenue total. Sounds like alot. They intend to mine over at least 50 years possible as long a 100 year years dont sound like much when put that way. Coal mine claims they are going to extract 5 million ton a year.

The coal company also claims that if there is a mine here there might some day be another power plant. I dont know that I want another power plant droping heavy metals on us. I sit between two right now. Looks like cancer central to me. JMHO

I am glad to hear monteray has be a good neighbor. Colt coal company hasnt even tried to be a good neighbor yet. They came in paidoff the local county board and then commenced screwing the local land owners. Oh well that is the way it goes. Talk to you later.

[Chuckb]

Hey Tim, thanks for leaving us a few fish! My son and I had a pretty good day Sunday in spite of the wind and rain. Really wanted a couple big flatties but settled for 40+ fish with twenty or so in the 2-5# range.

[bearcat]

Hey Chuck you did alot better than Scott and i we only put 12 in the boat. It seemed like the cats just wherent biting real good saturday.