THE
FOX RIVER
The Fox River enters Illinois from Wisconsin near Antioch and flows generally
in a southerly direction for 115.2 miles through heavily populated areas
of northeastern counties before joining the Illinois River at Ottawa.
River conditions have improved in recent years and a variety of sport
fish have been taken from this stream, including walleyes, northern pike,
smallmouth and largemouth bass, channel catfish, carp and other panfish.
Best fishing is found on the upper reaches.
The swift tailwaters below 14 dams, which impound the river into pools
of various lengths, provide the best fishing action. Most of the dams
are found in the Elgin-Aurora area and are located at Carpentersville,
Elgin, South Elgin, St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, North Aurora, Aurora
(2), Montgomery, McHenry, Algonquin, Yorkville and Dayton.
The McHenry Dam is one of the best spots for channel cat on the stream
and also produces excellent carp fishing for those interested in this
fish. The dam at McHenry also backs up 6,500 acres of water that forms
the Fox Chain O'Lakes which is covered elsewhere in this book.
Power boating and water skiing are most popular above the Algonquin Dam
to the McHenry Dam. Boaters can go through the lock at McHenry and proceed
to the Chain.
One of the better spots for smallmouth as been the dropoffs near rocky
ledges at Ottawa in LaSalle Couty.
