Sangamon River is up again.

[SangamonCatKiller]

Macon co. I guess decided to finally open the spillway in southshores. The river is moving again and is up a couple of ft. We need a lot more rain this year than we got lost year or its time for a drought all over again.

[barnold]

Sangamon, what part of the river do you fish. I live overe by the Altig Bridge area and fish both ways from Petersburg. I mostly fish the Ill. but like to start early on the Sang. Bo

[SangamonCatKiller]

we usually move west
from decatur

[barnold]

Sang. I haven't ignored your PM but until I get 20 posts I can't access it to reply. We should get together this summer and give it a go. Being retired I can get away almost any time I want . Food for thought:)

[Catmaster81]

SangamonCat,

Any success around Decatur? I lived there last year, and I've since moved to Indiana. I'm curious as to the degree of success that you've had. I've fished various places from Monticello to Springfield with varying degrees of success. Last year was frustrating, as with no water, I was unable to run my boat much below Decatur. Also, access is extremely limited from Decatur to Springfield. If the water is high, I liked to fish the area by Wyckles Road. I would walk quite a bit, both upstream and down. There's some really good spots upstream from the bridge. Also, there's a spot where Mechanicsburg Rd. crosses the river where you can put in a boat. No real ramp, but it's a sloped area of sand. From there you can run up about 2-3 miles before you reach a big riffle that you cannot go over (at least with a 20 HP motor :) ). This stretch had some good sand banks and rip rapped banks with deep water (10-13 ft.) and I caught some nice channels there early in the year. I fished near Riverton, with mild success, but it was early in the year and the water was up. A lot of people on that stretch. When the water was low, I ran into all kinds of trouble with my big motor again. My favorite place on the Sangamon to fish was upstream of Decatur. It's narrow, but it holds more water as the Lake Decatur dam holds it back. Access from Monticello to Decatur is tough (at least by boat) but there's some good water up there. I caught some nice channels and blues in that stretch along with a 15 pound drum. If you find my old bank poles, then you found the right spots, LOL. One thing is certain, I know there have to be some big cats in that river. It was frustrating that we didn't have the water last summer for me to go and get them!

[SangamonCatKiller]

I have not had much success in the wycles road area that you speak of but, I know where you are talking about. Have you had any luck near allerton park(monticello). I know the spillway can be overcrowded but, have caught many there. I am looking to find some way to fish the piatt county area.

[Catmaster81]

SangamonCat,

I've fished the Sangamon between Monticello and Allerton by boat. During the time I fished, I saw one other set of guys with a boat, and they were very friendly. If you're going to fish on the bank, be prepared to walk. If by boat, you can put in a Jon at the Bridge St. bridge outside of Monticello. Better have 4WD though, as it gets a bit messy :) . That's where I put in and had a lot of luck there. There are some decent holes downstream from there, and a lot of good cat structure. The problem is that there was a jam all the way across the river about 2 miles down from the bridge that prevented me from going downstream farther. I'm confident there's some great spots in there. I ran that stretch with my 20 HP motor and a 14 ft. jon without too much trouble. I would recommend a 12-14 ft. jon with a 5-15 HP motor though. The 20HP was a little big, and there were places where I touched bottom. Lots of hazards in this stretch too, including a large skid in the river the first corner down from Monticello. I caught a few nice flats there and a bunch of dandy channels. As for Allerton, I think they're very finicky about letting people fish in there. You could fish it with a boat, if you could get there, as I believe this stretch of the river is navigable (could be wrong). However, they have cyclone fence between the roads in Allerton and the river bank. I would recommend a copy of the Illinois Atlas and Gazetteer if you don't already have one. There are some roads that dead end near the river in Piatt county that can get you close to some good spots. I prefer to fish from a boat, so I didn't pursue that avenue too much, but there are a few opportunities for the bank fisherman if he's willing to walk. As always, be careful about private land. Wish I would have joined this site last year, I would have enjoyed having a fishing buddy from the area. Best of luck! Keep me posted on how you do! I KNOW there have to be some big kitties in that river.

[SangamonCatKiller]

catmaster, hey I was just asking cuz' I met a landowner and his is the property right next to allerton park. So I walk in through his land and am gonna fish some real nice looking stuff this spring. I will keep you posted on he we do there.

[Catmaster81]

SangamonCat,

LakeLink says there's a 20 foot hole somewhere in Piatt county. If you could find water anywhere close to that deep, there's bound to be a big one there. I'll keep a lookout for your exploits. If I ever end up moving back to Decatur, I'd like to take a trip in the boat with ya sometime. Wouldn't hold my breath though, LOL. I don't expect my career to take me back to Decatur rock city for at least another 3-4 years. Best of luck in the Sangamon.

[SangamonCatKiller]

LakeLink? Please elaborate, what is LakeLink? It sounds like something I want to view.....

[SangamonCatKiller]

Never mind, I found it.

[FlatGetter]

You wouldnt happen to fish from a canoe with a trolling motor, and a big bright light, keeping fish, ruining peoples fishing nights. Tell me that aint you.

Catmaster81 ????????

[5gallonsofsafety]

20 ft hole? well i did some depth check out west of the Oakley br. i never did get an exact reading but i would say it was @ least 17ft the thing i really liked about this area is that directly attatched to the river (all along the river) there are decent sized ponds. when i went threw there they all had a nice cover of moss. there was one pond that actually had some size to it. i never thought to see how deep these ponds were, but i would guess at least 3-4 ft deep. and they directly mouth up to the river

[SangamonCatKiller]

ol' safety, still like that deep hole? I am reluctant to fish it only because I can't see any type of cover anywhere. I just don't see what would bring any baitfish to the area. The ponds that mouth up to the river sound a little interesting. Maybe just maybe we throw it into rotation. But I would like to get a feel for some of the cover in that area, if there is any.

[SangamonCatKiller]

Fg, even if that was him, I don't think he would come out and say it was. After all the stuff that he did to effect our fishing last year, I wouldn't admit it if I were him ! But, I really don't think the man in question is: catmaster

[SangamonCatKiller]

I won't bother with a new thread to say" The Sangamon River is up Again" This is getting really old. No banks in sight. More rain in forecast. I hope to god it passes by this time. We need a good two weeks or more of dry conditions.

[howards]

Iam going to try to fish you river around from Springfield this year.

[SangamonCatKiller]

Good luck! There are some big flatties in there. Now that the river's down the temp goes down with it..... geesssh

[wizkersNworms]

Any of you ever fish the Sangamon river from Monticello to Mahomet? Any luck?

Thanks.

[Doyle]

Anthony, thats some good information. I live about a mile from the Sangamon in Mahomet. Mahomet put in a little park on the river. I don't know it they are going to improve that area but at least you can walk to the river.

[illnoize]

I don't have a boat so my sangamon fishing is limited. What bait do you guys use for the channel cats?

[Catmaster81]

Sorry guys,

I hadn't been on in a few months. I've been busy. Thanks for the compliment Doyle. I appreciate it. You and Nick are both quality cat anglers and I hope you both catch plenty. As for the guy who wants to throw rocks at the Catmaster, no I do not fish from a canoe with a light. A canoe is too much work for me. I doubt you've ever seen me. I have a 14 ft. jon boat with a 20 HP Johnson outboard. I now live in Lafayette, IN so I no longer fish the Sangamon. However, I do keep what I catch and I eat it, and it is good. Doyle, the farthest I've been upstream on the Sangamon is the Interstate 72 bridge. I'm sure there is good cat habitat up above there, but I decided to run down from Monticello a bit as it appeared to be better down there. The Mahomet area is probably pretty good, but it was a run for me as I used to live in Decatur. The hardest thing on the Sangamon is access. If you can get it, it is a good river. The next hardest thing is keeping the skeg of your motor off the bottom in the shallow places :) . Looks like the river has been high or flooded all year long. Where was all this rain last year Nick? I could have used it to get out more with the boat. I'd have done a lot more fishing. Oh well, keep me posted on what you guys catch this summer. I'm very interested. I may end up in Decatur again sometime in my career!

Anthony.... a.k.a. Catmaster81

[SubnetZero]

just bringing up this old thread to see if any of you guys still fishing the Sangamon and if so, having much luck? .. I've been hitting it last couple weekends with sporadic success....

[jross1901]

any sangamon reports lately??
are there flatheads in this river??
dcent sized channels??
i'm all catch and release!!!!

any info would help, i just moved to the champaign area.:big_smile:

[SubnetZero]

Not sure what stretch your by, I've been on/watching around Riverton IL.
River is back down.. Aint been on it for a bit.
Sangamon is a pretty good Flathead river. Its Small, shallow and full of boat hazards though.. Channels, Flatheads, White Bass, Stripers, Crappie, and even a few walleye have been pulled out of there.
Shad usually found up in creeks and creek mouths..

[Catmaster81]

Hi All,

I'm back in Decatur again. My employer has graciously moved me back to the land of milk and honey. Anyway, I'm anxious to hit the Sangamon again and see what I can catch. It's been flooded all spring, but I'm sure it will come down soon enough. Does anyone have anything recent to share about the Sangamon? I'm hopeful to be back out exploring soon, and I'll let everyone know how I do.

Catmaster81