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  1. #1
    Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Ruma Ill
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    803

    Fox river chain .

    Any guys on here that fish that river . My daughter just graduated from college and will be working in Mc Henry IL . I will be fully retired next year and want to stay with her and fish 5he river while she’s at work during the middle of the week . I Have never fished that river but I am very good on rivers when it comes to bass fishing As I have grown up fishing the lower Kaskaskia Mississippi and Ohio rivers for almost 40 years now . What’s the best time of year to fish that river for blacks and what about small mouth fishing . What about good boat ramps close to McHenry .

  2. Member hooksetter5's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Northern Illinois
    Posts
    2,582
    #2
    There are nice fish on the Chain and Fox River. Depth is always an issue. Finding water over 6' deep is not as easy as you might think. Petit Lake has some deep water. Early or late in the day and early or late in the year are best for most due to boat traffic. Good news is it's only 135 miles to pool 13... and about the same to Shelbyville.
    Last edited by hooksetter5; 10-13-2020 at 08:28 AM.


    Mississippi River Pool 13
    Ranger R93 / Merc 200



  3. Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    NW suburbs IL
    Posts
    1,437
    #3
    I live about 10 minutes from Mchenry and fish the entire fox river system often. You have the Fox chain and the fox river and I will break it down from north to south. One thing I will warn you about, WELCOME TO THE LAND OF $20 DOLLAR BOAT LAUNCHES

    1) fox river from Burlington WI to Fox Chain(grass Lake)- Good diversity of fish I have caught SM, LM, Pike, White bass, Cats in this section of the river. There is a really good run of Whitebass and Walleye in this stretch and the SM fishing can be good. Probably best known for the White Bass run around Wilmot. River does get shallow in spots but no major obstructions
    2) Fox Chain down river to Mchenry Locks/Stratton Dam- Come summer it is a zoo and if you are not off the water by ten you will be absolutely over run by go-fasts, jet skis, and Wake boats. It is the second busiest inland water way in the country, there are over 100 bars and boats have zero HP or speed limits it can be downright scary. The fishing can be good and there are tons of little channels to break off and fish and the fishing can be good. Lots of flipping and pitching docks,frog pads etc. Northern Chain Lakes are the cleaner lakes and they have musky and SM in those. Winning Tourney bags can be 15+ on the chain and there is a group of die hard guys who dominate, including Elite angler Chris Groh. Working your way down river south of the chain is what they call the Upper river which runs through Mchenry, again a few channels you can fish but it is named the washing machine for a reason, the waves are horrible on a weekend because it is seawalls on both sides.
    3) Lower River- Mchenry Dam to Algonquin dam- This is the stretch I LM fish the most and fished tourneys on this section. Again pretty narrow river with lots of traffic but the LM fishing is really good. Lots of channels to flip and pitch, frogs, jigs, etc. A few spots you can catch SM but it is mainly a LM fishery. It is deep enough all the way down to ALgonquin and no obstructions.
    4) Algonquin Dam to cville dam- SMALLMOUTH HEAVEN- This is probably my favorite stretch on the whole river but it is super shallow below the dam and very few boats run this stretch because of it, there are no pleasure boaters due to the depth and it is very scenic, some spots you would not think you were in IL. I fish this area with a drift boat and float down. I was out a few weeks ago with a buddy and we caught 40 SM with about 10 in the 16-19 range. It has been on fire this year.

    I would be more than happy to share spots with you and get you started on the right foot.
    Last edited by pureoil313; 10-13-2020 at 11:37 AM.

  4. Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    Illinois
    Posts
    1,954
    #4
    Now that is a great breakdown. I fished the AC Fox Chain series this year for the 1st time. The whole system give great diversity, fishing from 18" of water to 30+'. Pureoil is correct in saying the locals, known as chainrats, are hard to beat. The team that won our tour collected over $20k, including $10,600 in the past 2 weekends, fishing local tournaments on 2 series. Not bad when it's 5 minutes to the ramp.....
    I'm not dead yet.....competition is the life blood of any human being

  5. Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Ruma Ill
    Posts
    803
    #5
    Thank you for the info . No worry’s, fishing for money from me up there I just want to spend some time with my daughter up there in the Middle of the week And go fishing while she s at work . I’m hoping by June July Next year I’m fully retired .