Wonderland Road

In the western part of the state in Pierce County lies the Rush River. Over 33 miles long this river snakes its way through the county and into Lake Pepin on the Mississippi River. The trout fishing begins at the county line and goes all the way down to a half a mile above where it dumps into the Mississippi. No one road parallels the stream. South of Wonderland Road there is no intersecting road for nearly two miles. The same is true out of Stonehammer Road downstream to the town of El Paso. The stream is full of native brook trout, stocked and native browns, and stocked rainbows. It is classified as a class II stream, but with over 28 miles of stocked water it is anything but marginal water. Fish #18 black stone flies, #16 BH Prince, and #18 black copper john during the early season. Expect to see #16-18 baetis hatching. Crane flies, #22 Hendrickson, and #22 Blue Winged Olives work well as the season progresses. In the larger water around the Hwy 10 bridge expect to catch fish in the 12 to 14 inch range with the occasional 12 in. brookie and 18 in. brown. Lost Creek is a tributary to the Rush and also full of trout. A road parallels the stream giving ample places to pull over.

~ Forgotten WI trout streams | Judy Nugent – November 1, 2006

Rush River @ Wonderland Road

This is where my love for fly fishing ignited. Before I knew much about fly fishing, I had tossed a Panther Martin #6 spinner thousands of times at trout in most every local stream within 50-60 miles of Red Wing. Spinner fishing is fun, productive, but it isn’t much of a challenge.

I knew a few people that fly fished, but mostly sub-surface with nymphs. I absorbed all that I could with this method and enjoyed catching lots of fish as a result. This method is fun, but it is nothing like matching the hatch coming off the water. Having a trout sip up your dry fly on a drift in the surface film is pretty spectacular.

It was in this very location, just upstream from the bridge on Wonderland Road where I was trying to fish with a dry fly for the first time. It must have been very apparent to the fly fisherman on the bridge that I had no clue what I was doing. This was twenty-plus years ago; before youtube and google. I didn’t have an instructional VHS. I’d seen A River Runs Through It…how hard could it be? I had a fair bit of success nymphing, could this be all that different. YES, it is very different.

I have since forgotten that fisherman’s name, but not the lesson he gave me that day. He took time out of his day, his fishing time, to explain all about the nuances associated with fishing with a dry fly. He even offered up a few fly patterns having seen the atrocities residing in my fly box.

New Knowledge

With that newly gained knowledge, I spent the rest of the summer wading that stretch of Rush River practicing presenting a dry fly in the pocket water and various currents. It didn’t take too long after that chance encounter before I landed my first trout on a dry. Things just sort of came together once I understood how the drift worked and how the size was more important than the color or even the pattern at times.

I was almost ready to give up fly fishing that day having tossed my crappy fly rod into the creek at one point. I was completely frustrated and ready to resume spinner fishing. That rod toss was the cue that spawned the intervention by a complete stranger that ended up providing the help to make fly fishing a life-long passion. Never underestimate the impact of helping someone out when they are in need. I’ve met and fished with a lot of great people since that day and have enjoyed many years of fly fishing. That passion continues on today and I am grateful for the lesson.