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Post by JWB on May 11, 2006 1:58:58 GMT -5
I toyed around with this idea a bit last summer when I was bored. The idea is to visit the three city of Champaign parks (Kauffman, Heritage, and Mattis Lakes) and catch a bass from each lake in the same day - while spending no more than an hour at each lake. Finally did it today. Had 3 at Kauffman (2 spots) and one from Heritage and Mattis lakes - I missed two other fish at these lakes - which meant I was close to a triple-double(?). Thought if any of you get bored over the summer it may be worth playing around with.
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Post by Illini MUI on May 12, 2006 23:46:50 GMT -5
I do that all the time around my house! Its a blast, next time try going to 5 lakes! HAHA i do it all the time. Another fun thing to do is go to as many lakes as you can, BUT you can't leave a lake/pond until you catch a "keeper" for the lake! I've spent whole days at one lake doing this! Deep Quarry by my house is 18" keeper
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Post by Tim on Jun 8, 2006 22:24:15 GMT -5
Hey JWB how big were the fish u caught at the Champaign parks? What'd ya use too?
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Post by jwb on Jun 10, 2006 2:16:08 GMT -5
Sorry for the delayed response haven't been around lately. Went to San Diego after graduation - Bonita pull hard for their size. It still isn't really fishing though - not a lot of skill involved in catching them other than the ability to turn the handle on the reel.
At Heritage Lake I usually catch fish flipping Yum Woolly-Hawgs or Mega Tubes around the brush at the north end of the lake. It is probably the most difficult lake to fish, I walked around it with a Smart-Cast fish finder last year and couldn't find anything much deeper than 3 feet. Additionally there are a lot of rocks and trash in the lake that snag just about everything. I would like to think that it is a good place for a Carolina rig because 85% of the lake is sparse - so far it hasn't produced. The fish there are typically spooky as you will find out once you walk the shoreline. In spite of this over the past 2 years I have caught some pigs - several in the 5-6 lbs range.
Currently Kauffman has me stumped...of course I only fished it once since I have returned. I figured the fish would be hanging out around the weed edges - or under them, with no luck. It seems like the park district hasn't invested any time or money in the place this year - shoreline is over grown and I did not see any weed edges at all last year. Good place for numbers typically - good place for shallow crank baits, rattle-traps, top waters, and plastics. There are gizzard shad in this lake and crayfish - and bluegill. Depending on the time of the year anything that mimics the forage should produce.
At Mattis Lake the Carolina rig does work on those hot sunny days - using a green pumpkin Yum ring fry casting parallel to the shoreline. The past Thursday caught several on a Yum ribbon tail (green pumpkin 7.5") and missed some nice ones (2-4lbs) on a bull frog pattern chugger I found a few years ago. I am planning on replacing the hooks real soon. Additionally this is a good numbers lake with the occasional decent fish. Rattle traps work well...just remember to loosen your drag because the fish will take a quick swipe at them right as you are lifting the bait out of the water. At times this lake is difficult to fish - a lot of people let their dogs jump in the water and the occasional RC Boaters.
...that is all I got to say about that.
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Post by Tim on Jun 15, 2006 23:35:05 GMT -5
Hey,
where exactly is Mattis Lake?
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Post by jwb on Jul 20, 2006 0:50:11 GMT -5
You would think Mattis Lake would be off of Mattis Ave somewhere - but for some reason it is off of Devonshire Drive just west of Neil Street - behind the Fox Drive development area. I haven't been there in a while but in the past silver rattle traps and carolina rigged french fries seemed to produce well for me last summer in the heat and sun.
~jwb
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