Me and 2 buddies made the 3 hour drive Friday night to Newton, Illinois for a little bass fishing. Newton is known for it's big bass, and we were certain we would be able to do some sight fishing and catch some big females on their spawn beds. Made it there about 10 that night, and got checked into the hotel. This is the power plant on Newton Lake. There are 2 arms, one with warm water and one with cold. The warm water never freezes, meaning that fishing stays good all year, and the bass get pretty big. We got to the lake around 6:15 the following morning, and made a quick run to an area I had luck in 2 years ago. We soon realized that the combination of the power plant being down, and the recent rain made the water to murky to sight fish. Right off the bat I had a huge bite. Fought the bass all the way back to the boat as it was pulling drag off my Pflueger reel. Right at the boat, the fish broke off. Soon after, I caught this bass inside a small log jam up next to the bank on a pearl swimming senko. We thought we were going to get into them pretty good, but the next few hours only produced a few small fish. Around noon, my friend Kyle hooked into this solid largemouth. The bite slowed down big time. We tried the warmer water, and were able to catch a few small bass, but nothing with any size. Around dark, we went back to where we started the day and got back into them. The fish were chasing schools of shad off the point and busting them on the surface. I caught this bass just before the sun went down, and soon after I caught a 5# channel cat on a swimming senko (despite what the pictures show, it was still somewhat light). I have never had a catfish take soft plastic bass lure before. Today we woke up, hoping the water would clear up a bit, but it didn't. Plan was to fish until noon and then head home. No fish early on, and then I caught a smaller one off a buzz bait in some weeds. Right before we left, we hit a small ledge area hoping some bass would be spawning in there. I threw out a lizard, and felt a tug on my line. I couldn't believe it when I pulled up a largemouth tipping the scales at 5.4 #'s. Not a bad way to end the weekend trip.
I've been to Coffeen twice this year, first time I've ever fished it before. We only caught a few the first time, but caught 64 the second time. There are a bunch of small fish at Coffeen, not much for trophy potential. It was an excellent lake for numbers though, with a few coming up around 1.5 #'s.
Nice bass and channel. Went this weekend myself. Water temp was at 60. Good fishing for the next couple months. Pre spawn here.
Yea things are really heating up here too. The weather and water this weekend weren't ideal, but we still had some luck. I was able to fish for 1 female on her bed for about 20 minutes in a shallow cove the first day, but she never would give in to anything and bite. Several locals we talked to Saturday said the bite slowed down when the rain moved through. Going to try to head out again Sunday to a different lake that's a little closer to home.
