Mattis Lake Fishing near Champaign, Illinois

• Overview

  You will find Mattis Lake in Champaign County, Illinois. It stands 715 feet above sea level. It covers about 4 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. Our Champaign County list holds plenty of bigger water. Supplies mean a trip to Champaign, 2.1 miles off. The nearest city of size is Springfield, 76 miles away. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Mattis Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. A reservoir gives you a hard edge, a shelf, and not much else. Rip-rap along the wall holds fish that the open bank never does. Open biodiversity records for Champaign County list bluegill, orangethroat darter and green sunfish. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. On Mattis Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 76°F and January reads 24°F. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around mid March. Expect the water usable from around mid March until roughly late December. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. Plan around that when you fish Mattis Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. You can park half a mile away and walk in from there. Public toilets are recorded roughly half a mile off. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Should this one be busy, Maynard Lake is 2.5 miles off. For Mattis Lake in particular, ask before you travel.