Above or below?

[TimU]

If given a choice of fishing the eddies above a dam or below a dam, which one would you choose?

 

Should these areas near the dam be fished differantly than more open areas of the river?

 

Should I stick to the slack water or fish more in the current?

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Gary L]

I always felt it was to crowded fishing below the dams. I preferred and spent most of my time fishing well down stream from the dam. Eddies are where you are going to find most of your fish. So anything that forms an eddie should be fished thoroughly. The area above a dam is for the most part kind of dead water as it usually has low oxygen levels. You need to be away from the dams both above and below to get into concentrations of fish. All of the rivers in northern Illinois like the Fox, Kankakee, DePage, Kishwaukee, Rock and others have great eddies to fish and most area can be waded on all but the Rock River. With you being in Schamburg you will have to accept the fact that you will need to travel some to get to good water. I would suggest the Fox or DuPage and to get with some of the other members and pick there brains. I always enjoyed the stretches of the Fox south of Aurora.

[TimU]

Thanks Gary! I fished the Dupage yesterday(about a 30 min drive) below a dam and was able to catch a 12 incher off the backside of an island(sandbar) on my third cast with a 3" jerkbait...unfortunately it was my only action of the 2-1/2 hour trip. I fished both sides of the river and covered all the eddies I could reach using a tube, a small spinnerbait and the jerkbait with no luck. The reason I asked about fishing above the dam is because I can get access above the dam, but I can't get much farther than about 200ft below the dam do to it being private property. Sounds like I should look for another access point a bit farther downstream, which unfortunately is also going to be farther from my house. I thought I might have found a decent spot I could run to after work for a quick fix. I have yet to try the Fox as it seems a bit overwelming to me do to it's size and lack of knowledge of access points.

[maineman]

Hi, Tim. I can help you out with some areas on the Fox, and I'm sure others will join in, too. Just a few examples would be South Elgin near Blackhawk (now called John J. Duer) Park, some spots between the dam in South Elgin and said park. Also in Carpentersville and Algonquin below the dam have some good stretches. All of these are within 30 - 35 minutes of Schaumburg. That's a start close to home. PM me for more particulars.

Ron