Lake Sara fishing: Channel Catfish

Target species: Channel Catfish

The lake

Lake Sara covers 560 acres in Illinois, across Effingham County. It is a lake: 91.1% of it is 33 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 48 feet (14.6 m). Our records hold 3 species for this water.

Stocking: 14,000 fish, 2022–2025

Illinois DNR Division of Fisheries records list 14,000 fish released into this water from 2022 to 2025.

  • Channel Catfish: 14,000 in 2022–2025

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 48 ft (14.6 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 91.1% of the water is 33 feet or shallower. We hold 58 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–3 ft: 4.2% of the water
  • 3–6 ft: 9.9% of the water
  • 6–9 ft: 12.7% of the water
  • 9–12 ft: 14.2% of the water
  • 12–15 ft: 10.4% of the water
  • 15–18 ft: 9% of the water
  • 18–21 ft: 9.4% of the water
  • 21–24 ft: 7.8% of the water
  • 24–27 ft: 6.1% of the water
  • 27–30 ft: 4.3% of the water
  • 30–33 ft: 3.1% of the water
  • 33–36 ft: 2.8% of the water
  • 36–39 ft: 2.6% of the water
  • 39–42 ft: 1.8% of the water
  • 42–45 ft: 1.3% of the water
  • 45–46 ft: 0.5% of the water

The target fish: Channel Catfish

  • Channel Catfish — Feeding water: 70–85°F.

Also recorded here: Yellow Bullhead, Common Carp.

Water and conditions

Water clarity runs 2–3.8 feet on our readings, averaging 2.8 feet, from 35 readings. Our water temperature readings average 77°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. The coldest single reading we hold is 54°F and the warmest is 87°F; the warmest monthly average is 86°F. pH averages 8. These readings span 2018–2022. The latest reading is from 2022, more than three years ago: read these numbers as history, not as the water today.

What is hard here

Summer water sits at 86°F: heat and afternoon lightning are the real risks, not the fishing.

Where this data comes from

  • Illinois Department of Natural Resources — Illinois Department of Natural Resources: depth contours: class A, a survey of the bottom, 2019.
  • Webster, K.E., McCullough, I.M., Soranno, P.A. LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0, EDI, doi:10.6073/pasta/64ddc4d04661d9aef4bd702dc5d8984f (CC BY 4.0); Cheruvelil et al. LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 (EDI) — LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0: Lake depth for 17,675 lakes in the conterminous U.S.: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.