Rush River 2017

[JBMasterAngler]

My first venture of the season to the Rush River, and the parking lot was full! One of my favorite qualities about this place though, is even if the lot is full, you can still escape and never see another person the whole day. I got plenty of exercise in, carrying my kids across each river crossing. Conditions weren't ideal for trout fishing...water was very low, and gin clear. Bright sunny day. Luckily it was very windy, providing a nice chop on the surface. As has been typical so far this season, kids lost interest in fishing after a few casts, and played in the woods the whole time. I caught 9 chunky brown trout, all in that 11/12 inch range. Also caught 1 brook trout. All fish caught on black panther martin, with brown dots (which is quickly becoming my favorite lure). Despite a lot of bugs flying around, I didn't see any of the fly fisherman catch anything. They were getting stuck in the trees a lot though 

[JBMasterAngler]

My wife suggested that I go fishing today, instead of tomorrow. And I could not thank her enough for that! The Rush was nothing short of phenomenal today! Got there about noon, was a good bug hatch going on upon arrival. Water was still low, with just a touch of cloudiness. But with the overcast skies, wind, and occasional rain showers, conditions were perfect! 

 

Caught 35 trout, which is a new single day record (33 was the old record, from same location). 27 brown trout, and 8 brook trout. The size of the fish were impressive as well. Most brownies ran about 13 inches, and had fat bellies. Biggest ran 17 inches. Biggest brook trout was 13 inches. Every fish caught on black panther Martin with brown polka dots. Had to quit at about 5, against my will, as my wife called me to come home. I reluctantly obliged 

[JBMasterAngler]

Either I'm slackin', or the sun is rising earlier than it did last year! Didn't make it to the river until 6, but surprisingly I was still the first to arrive  walked to my normal starting spot, but once there, something told me to go out of the ordinary. So I packed away my black panther martin and put on a crayfish husky jerk. I didn't catch the trophy I desired, but I did catch some nice ones, with the biggest being about 15 inches. I ventured farther downstream than I ever had before, and wanted to keep going, but it appeared that the fishing easement ended, and I may have been on private property. I stayed in the river the entire time, but didn't want to push my luck, so I went back upstream. Caught 19 total, probably lost at least as many. Surprisingly, no brook trout though. 

[JBMasterAngler]

HOLY MOLY was it a great day to be on the Rush! Pulled up to my spot at about 4:45 AM. The full moon was still out and shining bright. Given the success I had on my last outing, I decided to start with a husky jerk again, and again, it worked! 4th fish of the day ended up being my Rush River personal best, 19 inch brown trout! Husky jerk is definitely an early morning bait, at a certain time it just stopped working! Switched to my go to black panther Martin, and they really weren't to into that. Changed to a black/red panther Martin and it was game on! Fished until noon, and caught a new single day record, 48 trout! 35 browns, and 13 brookies (biggest being about 12 inches). I don't know what was up with these fish,but they had the feed bag on, and they didn't take it off! Even after the sun rose above the tree tops, they stayed active. Had a pair of deer watching me fish for several minutes, watched a raccoon fishing for crayfish, and heard grouse drumming in the woods...what a great day to be alive!

[walt501]

Great info!  I haven't done much trout fishing outside of lake trout, so can you tell me if you're allowed to keep any or all of these fish or is it a catch and release fishery only?

[Ufatz]

Even if you kept them you probably wouldn't like the taste,   assuming you want to keep some to eat.  Trout are sad table fare, generally foul tasting and mushy. However they are a delight to pursue,  especially with light tackle.  And remember to use barbless hooks which make it easier on the trout and much easier on your hand,  ear or arm when you hook yourself.

Enjoy your day on the water. You'll find,  as a noted angler once said, that trout do not live in ugly places.

[JBMasterAngler]

Limit is 3 on the Rush. 12" minimum for browns, 8" minimum for brookies. I always say I'll keep a couple, but I never do. Keep the trout regulations handy. Almost seems like every stream in Wisconsin has different limits and slots.

[JBMasterAngler]

Humbling morning on the Rush today. Didn't get there until 6. Lost a very nice brownie only 3 casts in, so I'm thinking it would be a good day. Nope! Lost 2 more nice ones within the next few minutes, but after that, action was very slow. Wasn't getting the strikes I normally get. Only caught 9, 2 of which were brookies. One of the browns was a 16 inch bruiser. Some sort of bug hatch was going on, they were tiny little mayflies. Was making the trout go nuts! It was pretty cool watching all the surface action, especially from the big trout. One other thing I noticed about the bugs...there are hundreds of different song birds along the river, yet only cedar waxwings were out and about eating all the bugs flying around. 

[leech~~]

1 hour ago, JBMasterAngler said:

Humbling morning on the Rush today. Didn't get there until 6. Lost a very nice brownie only 3 casts in, so I'm thinking it would be a good day. Nope! Lost 2 more nice ones within the next few minutes, but after that, action was very slow. Wasn't getting the strikes I normally get. Only caught 9, 2 of which were brookies. One of the browns was a 16 inch bruiser. Some sort of bug hatch was going on, they were tiny little mayflies. Was making the trout go nuts! It was pretty cool watching all the surface action, especially from the big trout. One other thing I noticed about the bugs...there are hundreds of different song birds along the river, yet only cedar waxwings were out and about eating all the bugs flying around.

 

Good day, fisherman bad!

[JBMasterAngler]

My alarm went off 3:35 in the morning. What time I actually got out of bed is a totally different story! Let's just say I pulled out of my driveway at about the same time I usually pull up to the river  with that I decided to start at the El Paso bridge crossing instead of my traditional spot. Water was fairly cloudy, but not high. Fish were not active at all. Only caught 2, lost 2, and didn't have many strikes. When the highlight of the day was crossing the new Stillwater bridge for the first time, you know it was a rough day.

[DrJuice1980]

I found a pretty decent mid-day bite 2 weeks ago, didnt hit the water until about 8:30.  I had to change up colors quite often to keep them interested, yellow and red panther go-to was ice cold after about 20 mins. yellow and white, black and yellow, orange and black.  Black and yellow was the best option, caught 20-25, a few in the 13-14 range.  Its nice to see the growth over the last few years, cant wait for the next few.

[JBMasterAngler]

My woes continue. I feel like the Los Angeles Dodgers of trout fishing right now. Only caught 2 little brook trout. Lost a couple others, but didn't have any strikes, and very few follows. I was hoping that maybe fish would getting active in preparation for spawning. Conditions were pretty tough though, bright and sunny, water was low and gin clear. Explored some new water though. Looking forward to trying out that spot in a couple weeks.