Lake Mattoon

[charliev55]

I am from Wheeling and I saw the post on lake mattoon.
Were you ice fishing Piginthepigpen???
How do you get to the lake..
About the only place I am familiar with in that
area is the AutoMart where all the dealers are
just off of 57..
Also is there adquate shore fishing..I do not have a boat.

[Ranger375]

Charlie
Will let PigInThePigPen tell you for sure but I suspect he was fishing from boat. Temperatures in the Lake Mattoon area had not dropped to the point to have ice much less ice thick enough to be out on.

There is a website with map of the area of Lake Mattoon
http://www.mattoonchamber.com/maps/lakemap.cfm
Can also look at the DNR website for a description of the lake
http://www.ifishillinois.org/profiles/lakes/mattoon.htm
by clicking on the 'MAPS TO PRINT' you'll see what the lake has to offer. Lots of residence on and around the lake, but still several places to fish from the bank.

I'll let others on the board that live on or near the lake give you more details.

I think in 2006 I'm going to get a Lake Mattoon boat permit and fish it.

[frank lawhead]

Isn,t There A Difference Between Mattoon And Paradice Lakes ?

Hear Talk Of Fishin There But Have Never Looked Them Up

[Ranger375]

Lake Paradise is just a liitle north of Lake Mattoon.

[unknown 5]

There is still open water at Lake Mattoon and you won't get this old fat boy out on the ice anytime, especially not now . The duck hunters are still blasting away.
The fishing is about the same in both lakes. I fish Lake Mattoon mostly because all I have to do is walk about 50 feet from my front door to my boat. I may like the fishing at Paradise a little better.

[frank lawhead]

DO YOU NEED A CITY STICKER FOR THE LAKES ?
IF SO WHERE DO YOU BUY THEM?
THANKS FOR ANY INFO

[crappieken]

Last year the stickers were $40 per boat and would get you on both Mattoon and Paradise. You can buy them at the marina just off the causeway that divides Lake Mattoon. The problem is that Lake Paradise has a 10 hp limit so if you want to put a smaller boat on Paradise, it costs you another 40 bucks. I had a friend that had his boat registered on the lakes and developed some serious problems with his motor which took a while to repair. He asked if he could put his small jon on the lake while his big boat was being repaired. They said "yeh" for another forty bucks.

[frank lawhead]

Nice People Ain,t They [haha]

[unknown 5]

I paid the $40 twice in 2004. They register over 1000 boats every year.