freestone river · walleye · white bass · catfish

Fox River (Dayton)

Live conditions for Fox River (Dayton): the gauge, the water temperature, the trend, and what the water is doing today — read the way a guide reads it.

Right now

9,350cfs↘ fallingnot now

Too high to wade safely at 9350 cfs · -7.4% over the last 6 hours.

Water temp—

Stage11.29 ft

Engine callOFF 9480 cfs outside wade band 400–800

Gauge read 7:45 AM CDT · USGS 05552500. Readings refresh every few minutes.

The water

Fox River (Dayton) is a freestone river below Dayton Dam (Dayton Hydroelectric Station) in Illinois, fished for walleye, white bass, catfish, crappie, smallmouth bass. On dam-controlled water the generation schedule is the whole story: the wade window is the no-generation block, and rising water at the gauge means the pulse is arriving.

walleyewhite basscatfishcrappiesmallmouth bass

Wade and float bands in cfs, the safety notes and the 14-day trend are on the signed-in river page.

Access

Millington Village Accesscarry
Last Resort Canoe Put-in (Sheridan)carry
IL Route 52 Bridge Access (Serena)bridge
Ayers Landing (Wedron)carry
Dayton Access – Above Damwalk in
Dayton Dam Tailwater Accesswalk in
Fox River Park Boat Launch (Ottawa)ramp
Allen Park Boat Rampramp

Directions to the put-in or wade access ride on every briefing.

The briefing

Know before you drive to Fox River.

Every morning OUTFISH reads this gauge, the dam schedule, the water temperature, the sky and the tips library, and writes one plain-language call for the waters you track: go or stay home, wade or float, when to be on the water, where to put in, what to tie on — with directions.

Start free — 7 days of Guide

Signed in: the wade and float bands, the full hatch calendar, safety notes, the 14-day trend, shop reports and today's briefing for this water.

This month

Active in October:

012345678

The full calendar by month, with notes, is on the signed-in river page.

Verify it yourself

The same sources the engine reads, straight from the agency:

USGS gauge ↗

More water in Illinois

Kankakee River (Momence)