Rush River

The Rush River is a 49.8-mile-long tributary of the Mississippi River in western Wisconsin in the United States. It rises just north of Interstate 94 in St. Croix County near Baldwin and flows generally southwardly through Pierce County. It ends in Lake Pepin of the Mississippi River, about 1 mile west of the village of Maiden Rock in Pierce County. The largest tributary is Lost Creek. ~wikipedia

Hwy 72 – 570th

The stretch of water between Hwy 72 and 570th is full of riffles, deep runs and pools – an a whole lot of trout. There is enough space immediately South of Hwy 72 to park a couple of cars and an easy trail down to the stream. After parking one vehicle at the 570th bridge, my fishing partner Linnae and I arrived stream-side on Hwy 72 bridge at approximately 1:30 p.m. The morning rain had finally moved out of the area. It was in just shy of 50 degrees with a 10 mph breeze. It was bit chilly. The waders fit a bit more snug with an extra couple of layers added for warmth.

Given the recent weather and current wind, we decided to toss spinners at the trout this afternoon. I used to spinner fish all the time before I discovered fly fishing and developed patience for it. It wasn’t long and there was a fish on. It was a short 15 minutes of stumbling over rocks and getting to a good run just upstream from the bridge. Purchasing a folding wading staff (see gear below) was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. It has been especially helpful given the weakness in my leg post knee replacement.

ELLSWORTH ROD & GUN

I was a bit surprised and sadden to see the stream bank directly across from the Ellsworth Rod and Gun given their mission – “trout stream improvement projects, wildlife habitat improvement projects…” The bank is littered with shot shell wads and clay pigeon debris (photos below); not to mention the lead pellets that are no doubt all over in the water and bank for fish and waterfowl to potentially ingest. Their website indicates a Spring Cleanup day of 4/18/18; perhaps this area was missed.

Given the footprint of their land, I am not sure why they decided to shoot across the Rush River; their appears to be ample land to West of the club house to develop for trap shooting.

Shot Shell Wads and Clay Pigeon Debris

Shot Shell Wads and Clay Pigeon Debris

Clay Pigeon Launcher

The Ellsworth Rod and Gun has a beautiful track of land. Funds are raised in part by their biweekly chicken feeds. These feeds take place Thursday evenings from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. – they are plenty good.

For the next several hours we made our way upstream. We tossed spinners into deep runs, torrent riffles and deep holes. We averaged a fish every 20 minutes. There were lots of 8-12″ trout to be had. There were two exceptions. Linnae landed a colorful 13-14″ Brown and I landed a 17-18″ Brown. Here are some photos from the fishing excursion on Friday May 11th 2018.