[Jimbo Slice]

I retired February 1st and now everyday is a Saturday. I wade the Kankakee, du page, Fox and Des Plaines and would like to explore other rivers this season. I spotted a few rivers using Google Earth like the Rock, Sugar, Pecatonica. I fish primarily for the smallies and walleyes. Any help on where to possibly get in safely or other options.

 

[joetrain]

Skifish is your go to guy for info on this subject. Maybe search this site for his posts. He is known to hit the out of the way places.
~JOE~

 

[Luckydawg13]

Buffalo Park in Algonquian has been good for me. In the past for smallmouth.

 

[True Blue]

I retired February 1st and now everyday is a Saturday. I wade the Kankakee, du page, Fox and Des Plaines and would like to explore other rivers this season. I spotted a few rivers using Google Earth like the Rock, Sugar, Pecatonica. I fish primarily for the smallies and walleyes. Any help on where to possibly get in safely or other options.

Where do you wade in the Fox and DuPage? I just got my first pair of waders and looking for some suggestions to try out.

 

[Jimbo Slice]

True Blue- Hudson Crossing Park in downtown Oswego is a good spot to park and you can wade all the way down to Orchard road. There are fish all through that area, you just need to move around and find ‘em. Same goes for Electric Park in downtown Plainfield. Multi-species on the Fox and mostly smallies on the Dupe. I look at Google Earth and check the USGS water level sites to scope out spots to try. Good fishing and the solitude of nature is my guide.

 

[hope]

I retired February 1st and now everyday is a Saturday. I wade the Kankakee, du page, Fox and Des Plaines and would like to explore other rivers this season. I spotted a few rivers using Google Earth like the Rock, Sugar, Pecatonica. I fish primarily for the smallies and walleyes. Any help on where to possibly get in safely or other options.

try Salt Creek, go to any forest preserve! if you don't mine the drive try Kishwaukee , near Cherry Valley by Rockford ,and Apple River by Galena , Apple River Canyon State Park!! For me nothing better than the Kankakee , you have a lot of river , changing every year , been fishing it for 40 years and still finding new spots that hold smallmouth and walleyes!

 

[Jimbo Slice]

I agree with your view of the Kankakee. I spend a lot of time on that river and have found numerous spots. Thanks for the heads up on the Kish. I will definitely check that area out. Does the Kish have a hard bottom so I can walk up and down stream?

 

[mike son]

I agree with your view of the Kankakee. I spend a lot of time on that river and have found numerous spots. Thanks for the heads up on the Kish. I will definitely check that area out. Does the Kish have a hard bottom so I can walk up and down stream?

Skifish is your man for info like Joe said. IIRC, he replied to a thread somewhat recently about someone asking about the various branches of the Kish with regards to the wade/float ability, bottom composition, and the type of water the various branches/sections were. I've looked into the area but it's a hike for me. I drive over it on my way to WI so I always take a peek from the highway, lol. Congrats on the retirement!

 

[Skifish1]

Sugar river is beautiful mostly sand bottom. I'd consider it a yak/canoe river - I've never waded it and never would. Kishwaukee is really multiple rivers with the various branches, it varies a lot depending where you are. May be all sand/silt bottom, other sections all gravel. Definitely sections to wade your best bet is study all the public forest preserve areas on google maps in Boone, Mchenry, Dekalb, and Winnebago counties and go explore (when waters are normal or low). Pecatonica is not wadeable. Its deep sandy and silt. Apple river is great wading, beautiful but access is very limited aside from state park and public hunting land. Rock river when low is certainly wadeable in short sections. Other considerations are Illinois river tribs (creeks and rivers like the Vermillion which is certainly wadeable and beautiful - just be careful it can run quick and best at low levels).

You may want to consider sections of the Dupe, Fox, Kank, and Des Plaines that you haven't waded before. You may be surprised what you may find. They are rather long rivers but if you study google hard and are willing to walk some distance to get access at a park or bridge (or ride a bicycle) you can hit some areas that have less pressure.

 

[mike son]

Sugar river is beautiful mostly sand bottom. I'd consider it a yak/canoe river - I've never waded it and never would. Kishwaukee is really multiple rivers with the various branches, it varies a lot depending where you are. May be all sand/silt bottom, other sections all gravel. Definitely sections to wade your best bet is study all the public forest preserve areas on google maps in Boone, Mchenry, Dekalb, and Winnebago counties and go explore (when waters are normal or low). Pecatonica is not wadeable. Its deep sandy and silt. Apple river is great wading, beautiful but access is very limited aside from state park and public hunting land. Rock river when low is certainly wadeable in short sections. Other considerations are Illinois river tribs (creeks and rivers like the Vermillion which is certainly wadeable and beautiful - just be careful it can run quick and best at low levels).

You may want to consider sections of the Dupe, Fox, Kank, and Des Plaines that you haven't waded before. You may be surprised what you may find. They are rather long rivers but if you study google hard and are willing to walk some distance to get access at a park or bridge (or ride a bicycle) you can hit some areas that have less pressure.

Do you think some of those smaller IL river tribs are worth the time? I remember reading they've been pretty beat up by the Asian carp. I've fished the Vermillion once before around Matthiessen SP and caught white bass and maybe a smallmouth or two. Cool place, I'd really like to take the time to explore down there.

 

[Skifish1]

I've only fished Vermillion a couple times like mid and late October with good success. Its a drive id really like to try it more. Started the south end of state park and went upriver quite a ways. Just a cool place. But yes if you time the bigger creeks correctly like end of March through May when a big river goes high it allows fish to go up the trib streams to gorge on baitfish and spawn even. Not all streams but some streams. I have a big creek in mind that I won't name that I discovered a few years back that smallies run up. When it gets hot and summer low levels they vacate and back down to big river.

 

[Jimbo Slice]

I’ve fished the vermillion for the whites in spring and crappies near mathieson. Nice scenery. I also found some good wadeable spots around Oswego, Millbrook and Millington. That’s as far down as I have gone so far. Rode my bike upstream from Montgomery and fished from shore at numerous access but I don’t find the urban surroundings all that appealing. I will check out the Kish and Rock this season if only to see some new landscape and wildlife. Even if I don’t catch fish getting a fly-by by a bald eagle or glimpsing a mink running the shoreline makes for a good day. Thanks for the input boys.