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.

Three small communities are located on the river: Centerville, Martell, and El Paso. While the land near the source is relatively flat, the river soon falls into a steep valley typical of the Driftless Area, with outcrops of sandstone and limestone.

The delta of the Rush River is a State Natural Area, designated in 1986. The heavily wooded floodplain provides an ideal location for waterfowl. ~wikipedia

Fisherman’s Road – El Paso, WI

Fisherman’s Road (425th) in El paso, WI is a quintessential trout experience.  Access to these beautiful blue ribbon trout waters is easy and plentiful thanks to generous land owners like Craig Purse and conservation organizations like Eau Galle Rush River Sportsman Club, Inc.,  who received a large track of land (148.5 acres) donated by the Koch Family.

Use of this land is not without conditions; the biggest of which is “take out what you bring in.”  This goes for private land as well.  It is simply not acceptable to leave behind plastic worm containers, aluminum cans, glass bottles – any form of liter!  This isn’t a difficult concept, yet I see it most every time I am on a stream.  I make it a point to pick up what I can.  The net hanging off my vest is an excellent receptacle for trash on the hike back to my vehicle.  Land owners will appreciate you making this effort.

On the trail

My fishing partner Linnae and I arrive at Fisherman’s Road @ 7:30 a.m. on Saturday 4/29/18.  It was a chilly 27 degrees with frost on the ground.  This time of year, it feels good to get your waders and gear on for warmth.  It was shaping up to be a beautiful bright-sun-shinny day on the Rush.  We crossed the river from the parking area and walked along the wonderful trail that Craig and his wife maintain.  They even have a fire pit (with split wood stacked) at the bend in the river for people to enjoy.  This is why respecting the land is so important.  Too many shenanigans and the access the public enjoys can easily be revoked.

We surveyed the water as we walked along; not much activity as we suspected given the temperature. We tried some nymphs while we waited for the sun to warm things up a bit more.  I connected with a single fish, but did not land it.

The Streamer Guy

As we made our way down stream further, we ran into “Streamer Guy.”  He had been out even earlier and was on his way back in from the stream.  He was all about the streamers.  No nymph or dry fly fishing for for this guy.  He was more than willing to enlighten us on his preferred method of catching larger trout.  This is what I love about other fly fishers on the stream that you meet.  Their willingness to take time and share their knowledge and experience with you is priceless in my opinion. This gentleman even gave Linnae a few a patterns that he personally tied himself to try.

Later on

Later in the day when things warmed up a bit, so also did the action.  At approximately 1 p.m., the bugs started to rise with increasing frequency.  The fishing was challenging given all of the natural food in the water and on the surface.  We managed to land a few Brown Trout on a Blue Winged Olive size 18.  We both landed a Brook Trout as well.  In this photo you can see Linnae’s Brook Trout en route back to the stream as it flopped out of her hand while I was trying to take a picture.

The action was steady for a good while.  We didn’t hook any monsters; mostly little fighters.  I did observer some nice ones rising to the naturals, but could not coax one to bite.  Before we knew it, it was 3:30 in the afternoon…a mere 8 hours after we arrived.  Time flies when you are on the trout stream.

Take only photos; leave only ripples in the stream.

Adaptation of Chief Seattle’s Take only memories, leave only footprints.

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