The Winnebago Pool is a collective name for a group of interconnected lakes in eastern Wisconsin.^[1] The Winnebago Pool includes Lake Winnebago, Big Lake Butte des Morts, Lake Poygan and Lake Winneconne. These lakes combined encompass over 166,000 acres (672 km²) and account for nearly 17% of the total surface water area in Wisconsin (not counting the Great Lakes). They generally have a water surface elevation of about 746, some 170 feet above the Bay of Green Bay which is about 39 river miles to the northeast. The primary feed waters of the Winnebago Pool are the Wolf River, Fox River and Fond du Lac River. Lakes Winnebago and Big Lake Butte des Morts (along with Little Lake Butte des Morts to the northeast) served as part of th Fox-Wisconsin Waterway. (source: Wikipedia)

The Upper Fox River begins as a small stream northeast of Pardeeville. It flows southwest towards Portage and comes within 2 miles (3.2 km) of the Wisconsin River before quickly turning north. After flowing past Montello, the river goes northeast until reaching Lake Butte des Morts. Here it is joined by the tributary Wolf River before entering Lake Winnebago at Oshkosh. The Lower Fox begins at the north end of Lake Winnebago, where it flows north past Neenah, Menasha, and Appleton as it begins its 39-mile (64 km) course towards Lake Michigan. The river drops around 164 feet (50 m) over this short stretch, and prior to the construction of European-style dams after 1850, the river had many sizable rapids. The Lower Fox ends after flowing through the city of Green Bay and into Lake Michigan through a bay named Green Bay. Altogether, the Fox-Wolf watershed drains an area of about 6429 square miles (16,650 km²), giving the Fox an average discharge rate of 4132 ft³/s (117 m³/s) into the bay.The Fox River flows into Lake Winnebago in Oshkosh.  Traveling north on the Fox River you come to Big Lake Butte des Morts (Hwy 41 crosses this lake).  The Fox River then flows south from this lake in the southwest corner.

The walleyes that go upstream from Lake Winnebago to spawn, travel 125 miles to the Leeman dam, which is just below the city of Shawano.  The distance going south on the Fox River is 52 miles to the first dam.

This whole area is where I guide clients to great catches of walleyes, perch, bluegills, white bass and northerns.

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