The Fish Hook River, also spelled Fishhook River, is a tributary

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the Shell River

Shell River (Minnesota)

The Shell River is a tributary of the Crow Wing River, 45 miles long, in north-central Minnesota in the United States. Via the Crow Wing River, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining a rural region....

, nine miles (14 km) long, in north-central Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The river's source

Source (river or stream)

The source or headwaters of a river or stream is the place from which the water in the river or stream originates.-Definition:There is no universally agreed upon definition for determining a stream's source...

, Fish Hook Lake, collects short tributaries known as the Portage River and the Potato River. Via the Shell and Crow Wing

Crow Wing River

The Crow Wing River is a tributary of the Mississippi River approximately in length. The river arises in a chain of 11 lakes in southern Hubbard County, Minnesota and flows generally southeast, entering the Mississippi at Crow Wing State Park, northwest of Little Falls, Minnesota. Its name is a...

 Rivers, the Fish Hook River is part of the watershed

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

 of the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

. The river flows for its entire length in southwestern Hubbard County

Hubbard County, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 18,376 people, 7,435 households, and 5,345 families residing in the county. The population density was 20 people per square mile . There were 12,229 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile...

; its watershed extends into northeastern Becker County

Becker County, Minnesota

Becker County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 32,504. Its county seat is Detroit Lakes. A portion of the White Earth Indian Reservation extends into the county.-History:...

.

Its name is a translation of the Ojibwe name for the river and Fish Hook Lake, Pugidabani.

Geography

The Fish Hook River is considered to begin in the city of Park Rapids

Park Rapids, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,276 people, 1,476 households, and 788 families residing in the city. The population density was 547.5 people per square mile . There were 1,616 housing units at an average density of 270.1 per square mile...

, at a dam

Dam

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

 forming the two-mile-long (3 km) Fish Hook River Reservoir, which was constructed to supply hydropower

Hydropower

Hydropower, hydraulic power, hydrokinetic power or water power is power that is derived from the force or energy of falling water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes. Since ancient times, hydropower has been used for irrigation and the operation of various mechanical devices, such as...

 at the site of rapids on the river. From Park Rapids the Fish Hook River flows south-southeastwardly through Todd

Todd Township, Minnesota

Todd Township is a township in Hubbard County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,422 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 29.7 square miles , of which, 26.2 square miles of it is land and 3.5 square...

, Straight River

Straight River Township, Minnesota

Straight River Township is a township in Hubbard County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 662 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 35.3 square miles , of which, 34.3 square miles of it is land and...

, and Hubbard

Hubbard Township, Hubbard County, Minnesota

Hubbard Township is a township in Hubbard County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 786 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water...

 Townships, collecting the Straight River

Straight River (central Minnesota)

The Straight River is a tributary of the Fish Hook River, long, in north-central Minnesota in the United States. Via the Fish Hook, Shell, and Crow Wing Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of approximately in a rural region...

 from the west. It flows into the Shell River from the north in Hubbard Township.

The Fish Hook River Reservoir flows from Fish Hook Lake, which collects the river's northern watershed. The Portage and Potato Rivers flow short distances to the lake from Portage and Potato Lakes, respectively. Potato Lake collects Hay Creek, which flows from northeastern Becker County, draining a region of lakes.

The Fish Hook River flows in the Northern Lakes and Forests ecoregion

Ecoregion

An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...

, which is characterized by conifer and hardwood

Hardwood

Hardwood is wood from angiosperm trees . It may also be used for those trees themselves: these are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen.Hardwood contrasts with softwood...

 forests on flat and rolling till plain

Till plain

A till plain is an extensive flat plain of glacial till that forms when a sheet of ice becomes detached from the main body of a glacier and melts in place depositing the sediments it carried. A till plain with irregular topography is referred to as a ground moraine.-See also:*Glacial till plains...

s and outwash plain

Sandur

A sandur is a glacial outwash plain formed of sediments deposited by meltwater at the terminus of a glacier.- Formation :Sandar are found in glaciated areas, such as Svalbard, Kerguelen Islands, and Iceland...

s. The river's fish population is dominated by suckers

Catostomidae

Catostomidae is the sucker family of the order Cypriniformes. There are 80 species in this family of freshwater fishes. Catostomidae are found in North America, east central China, and eastern Siberia...

, but walleye

Walleye

Walleye is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch...

 and northern pike

Northern Pike

The northern pike , is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox...

are also present.