In Case Dale Doesn't Run It

[Ken G]

My time in the Fox River has dwindled to virtually nothing. A far cry from years past when 3 or 4 trips to the river each week was the norm. Back then I drove 25 miles one way to take advantage of the opportunity. Now I live a two minute walk to the river and rarely get the chance to take that walk.

Things have changed. Dramatically.

I joke that I have forgotten more about the river than most will ever know. I'm starting to think it's no longer a joke. And yet I still meet people that fill me in on it's long history. Things I never knew and have no clue where to look. But what I know is different. An intimate knowledge of what it's like to walk the river. Boulders that have been in the same spot for thousands of years and will be there for thousands more. Gravel bars that never move. Indentations in the river bottom that I can find with my eyes closed. Knowledge perhaps, but how useful really.

If anyone ever wants to bank roll me so I can finish the most comprehensive wading maps of the Fox River you'll ever see, get in touch. Geneva beyond Yorkville and all the creeks in between. I can look at an aerial map and locate within a foot all kinds of bottom structure. Pin point stretches of under cut banks. Tell you how deep an outside bend is and whether it's worth fishing.

All these spots have produced smallies at one time or another. And as an IDNR biologist once told me, if you know where the 5 foot deep water is you'll find flatheads in the 40 to 60 pound range.

I know where most of that water is in the stretches I know. I just never went fishing for flatheads. But I can mark them on a map.

Now the most I can offer are memories of falls past. I did not get out fishing this past week or so, but I drive along it daily. I check the river level often. I can tell you that right now conditions are ideal. This on and off rain will only serve to make the fish active and the fishing better.

And I'm working too much.

Years ago I offered in the water fishing classes. September into October and into November if the weather cooperated. I concentrated on 3 areas.

North Aurora from the dam down to I-88. When it would rain this time of year, I would wait 24 hours and the white bass would be running to the dam. The river only had to come up a couple of inches for them to turn on. 24 hours later when the water came back down a couple of inches, the white bass would disappear. The cycle would repeat itself with each burst of rain.

Indian Trail Road from the north tip to the south tip of Gregory island. Smallies, white bass and walleye seemed concentrate throughout this stretch. Never could figure out why, but at times the numbers of fish were astonishing.

My favorite is the stretch from Orchard Road down to Saw Wee Kee Park. Just remember you want to be on the north side of the islands when you get to them. I have pictures in my archives of a mild day on a Thanksgiving weekend many years ago. Friends holding 14 to 16 inch smallies caught in this stretch. A minnow bucket floating on the surface of the river gives away what was needed to catch these fish that weekend.

I also fished all the areas in between these in falls past. All have produced. All are worth exploring.

It seems that on any given day you can get plenty of fishing reports from the local web sites that focus on the areas north of South Elgin. I see virtually nothing reported from the stretches further south. I rarely see anyone in the water. The swarms of waders that were combing these lower stretches of the Fox 6 to 12 years ago are all but gone. The 100's of anglers I guided there and had out to my fishing classes seem to have never gone back.

I wonder if they have the same issues with time I now have or if their interest in fishing the river has simply faded away. A wise outdoors writer recently mentioned how after the age of 50 if you don't continue to go fish, the desire to do so falls by the wayside.

Or something like that.

My problem is that the river flows through me like blood through my veins. I can hear the music it makes as it tumbles over rocks if I close my eyes and sit quietly for a minute, even while sitting in my car. I can feel the pressure of flowing water on my legs even when standing on dry ground. I can't imagine not being obsessed with wanting to experience this as often as possible, with the tug of a fish on the end of a line as an added bonus.

The desire to do this is as strong as ever, even after 14 years of fishing this river time and again. I just want the time back.

[Norm Minas]

Ken

I feel for you. I get itchy when I miss a day or two, I couldn't imagine getting cut back to where you are.

I know exactly what you mean about the river being part of you, I'm the same way with mine. I can feel it's spirit, it's soul and it's pain as it continues to be abused. I believe that the river itself is a living organism, not just the living things that inhabit it. I know, feel, respect and honor the presence of the old gods and goddesses associated with the river.

[Fishin Musician]

Ken, As the Brothers in Bellwood would say "I feel you" and I mean that it a Good way!!! I moved out to Batavia so I didn't have to make that 32 mile journey to fish the Fox and I am blessed to be here. My new job has demanded more time from me as well, so those All day excursions are long gone . Now I steal an hour away here and there and spend as much time as i can on the river. I am not one for taking pictures and waxing poetic on my outings but the other day a revelation came to me and I knew I had turned some type of proverbial corner. Everyone gets something out of being on the river, to some it is showing their skills in catching those 20 inch smallies that everyone else has a hard time ever seeing... Some like to document the days events and bring other less fortunate ones out on their trips to show what can be had with a little effort. I realized lately walking around the river and hearing the water run , the owl a hooting in the background ,deer swimming behind me( very cool sight to be seen !!) and the fish have become a bonus. WOW... I really must be getting OLD Ks.

[Ken G]

Kev, you have noticed that it's the three old guys on this site that are thinking pretty much the same.

Odd how that happens.

Hoping to get out this afternoon for a few hours. It's been too long.

[Norm Minas]

With age comes wisdom, well hopefully. Some guys have 40 years experience, some guys have one year of experience 40 times.

I sometimes wish I had been smart enough to take care of my body better when I was younger. A friend once observed we spent part of our lives taking drugs, damn near killing ourselves. Now we take drugs trying to stay alive.


What a long, strange trip it's been.

[Ken G]

I sometimes wish I had been smart enough to take care of my body better when I was younger. A friend once observed we spent part of our lives taking drugs, damn near killing ourselves. Now we take drugs trying to stay alive.

What a long, strange trip it's been.

Now at the Grateful Dead concert at the Uptown Theater around 35 years ago, I was in the 5th row blissfully strung out on . . . oh, never mind. Now for sure they would kill me.

[Norm Minas]

I was there, can't remember where the seats were. Not that it mattered, I was drinking electric koolaid.

[Johndyers34]

Ken,
Great read. I feel a little fortunate because I get the same feeling when in the rivers. Being 25 and only wading rivers for 3 1/2 years (and definitely not getting out as often as I would like), I've always enjoyed my surroundings more then the catching of fish. That could be because I wade and explore more then I've caught, but whatever it is, it keeps me wanting to go back for more. I know some people have a hard time walking a river for hours, taking notes, throwing a line constantly, and coming up short, but its a thrill. In the past fall and spring season, I probably put 100 hours in fishing for Steelhead with nothing to show for it, nothing except the great times on the water with great friends, mental and written notes on the holes and river structures, and the desire to do it all again this coming fall and spring season. I can't wait until the leaves color is a constant sea of yellow and orange and the brisk wind bites my nose as I cast a 10wt. fly rod into a pool that looks to be the best on the entire river. Like the past, I'll probably come up short with fish, but I'll never come up short from the experience of enjoying that river, at that time.