Delaware (Main) Fishing Forecast

A regional note specific to this water: the river's most productive hatches are the ones that match the season, and the season is the season the river knows, and the river knows the season better than the calendar, and the calendar is not the river, and the river is not the calendar, and the fish are the fish the river gives back to those who know the season the river knows. the river's most productive anglers are the ones who know when to leave, and knowing when to leave is harder than knowing when to arrive, and the anglers who know when to leave are the anglers who come back, and the anglers who come back are the anglers who catch the most fish. The Fox Chain of Lakes in northeastern Illinois is a series of natural and artificial lakes connected by short river channels, and the only lake-and-stream trout fishery in the Chicago suburbs that produces a 5-fish day of stocked and wild browns and rainbows from a series of rivers that run through a lowland landscape. The lakes are connected by the Fox River, which drains a series of small streams in southeastern Wisconsin and northeastern Illinois, runs for about 200 miles through the Fox River valley, and finally drains into the Illinois River at the town of Ottawa. A local once put it this way: The most popular trout water is the upper chain of lakes between the town of Fox Lake and the town of McHenry, and that water is managed as a put-and-take fishery by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The most popular access is the public water at the town of Fox Lake, where the IDNR maintains a series of boat launches and walk-in access to the upper chain of lakes. The lakes are stocked with rainbow trout each spring, and the most famous hatch is the Hexagenia limbata of late June, which begins at dusk and runs for two hours. If you do not see a fish in the first ten minutes, you are not looking hard enough; the water is full of fish you cannot see. The most famous local fly shop is the Fox River Anglers in Fox Lake, and the owner's advice is consistent: fish the upper chain, fish the Hex hatch, and stay out of the water when the boats are running. The most productive flies are 4-6 Pheasant Tail for the late-summer moth hatch, 12-14 BWO for the year-round midge emergences, and a Girdle Bug 10-12 a Sculpin for the streamer anglers. The river's personality is one of big-water respect — the river is wide, the wading is technical, and the fish are large, and the angler who respects the water is the angler who lands the fish. Stay in Fox Lake or McHenry, eat at the Village Squire, and fish the chain in two sections — the upper lakes above the town of Fox Lake and the lower river below. The river will give you back what you put in, and the fish will give you back what you have earned, and the only way to earn a fish is to deserve one. Bring a small folding stool, a small thermos, and a small amount of patience; the river will give you back more than you bring.