9-23-08 Fox Prospects for at least ten days

[Ken G]

With virtually no rain in the forecast the river should be down to normal by this weekend. It’s low enough now to be wandering the edges, as long as you know the depth. Lots of sunshine this week will keep things warmed up. If I had the schedule I used to have, instead of having to work all the time now, I would be out there every day for the next 10 days. That’s as far as the forecast says it’s going to be perfect.

Finding a place to fish will be easy. Pick a stretch you want to wade, get in and start fishing. Doesn't matter where.

The Fox is basically a minnow fishery. I’ve gone years without seeing a crayfish. Unlike the Kankakee, where you have to quit looking down while walking through shallows so you don’t start feeling guilty about all the crayfish you’re killing by stepping on them.

Sure enough, this past Saturday, in spite of near record flood levels the minnows were schooled everywhere in the slack water.

Add to that . . . Years ago I noticed that from the middle of September through October there was a phenomenal bite on anything that resembled baby blue gills. Better yet if you had the patience to catch baby blue gills. I mentioned this to fisheries biologist Pat Kirmse and he said that at that time of year the blue gills are making a run up the river and its tributaries.

Sure enough, this past Saturday I saw hundreds of baby blue gills in the shallows along the shores.

For the 124 smallies caught that day I used one 1/16th ounce jig till it literally fell apart and then tied on another one that lasted the rest of the day. Minnow colored looking twisters by Bass Assasin and Producto were the only things used. The colors were pearl, pearl/gray speckled, and smoke. I went through a lot of them. These will continue to work for quite some time.

I’m not sure a lot of guys will ever get used to just casting something out there, DOWNSTREAM, and then just letting the lure swim around in the water till something comes along and hits it. Don’t reel, just move the lure up down and sideways to make it look like a swimming minnow.

For most fishermen, if they’re not reeling, they’re not happy, so I guess they’ll just miss most of the fish.

[MattC]

Thanks for the tips Ken, maybe will have to take a trip to the Fox this weekend. I have never really waded the fox, just a little bit in South Elgin, i will have to take a look in some of your post from other sites and pick an area. Is the whole river pretty much wadable, i dont feel that comfortable wading areas that i dont know, is there any stretches that would be better for someone that doesnt know the fox that well. Thanks Matt

[Ken G]

Matt, further down in the Fox forum was this left by my friend Bob. Worth a read.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=170

I think the easiest stretch for a novice would be Geneva. By this weekend the water levels should be pretty close to normal, maybe up just a bit but not enough to worry about.

Get in under the Route 38 bridge and wade all the way down to the railroad tracks. The east side is the shallower side. I like the west side, just a bit deeper and I catch a hell of a lot more fish. You can easily zig zag all the way down just to get a feel for it.

Just watch when you get to the tracks. Gets a little deep in the area where the water is coming out from under the bridge.

The fishing in that stretch could be pretty good this time of year.

[MattC]

Thanks Ken for the info