Rush River BWO's and the crowd

The Rush is a classic driftless region lime stone bluff stream

To say the Rush river is a popular fly fishing spot is an understatement.  I have avoided it until now for two reasons.  One is Access.  This is a common problem for streams in Wisconsin.  Maybe I haven't come across the right info, but I can't find a map that has a clear indication of what land is private with an easement, private with no access or public.  Minnesota publishes an invaluable book that marks each trout stream, shows the regulations and where easements have been secured.  My approach in Wisconsin: find a river, drive to a spot, and check for no trespassing signs.  A driftless anglers best bet in this situation is to consult the driftless bible, Trout Streams of Minnesota and Wisconsin by Jim Humphrey and Bill Shogren.  This book has all you need to start exploring the streams of Wisconsin including maps and a little info about each river.  There is not so much detail that you will know a specific spot to fish, but the book will get you to a general spot that can be explored.   After all, exploring a new stream is half the fun.  I owe a lot of my fishing success to those two guys, and I am so thankful they produced such a great book. 
    The other reason I haven't fished the Rush until recently is it's so crowded.  Well, it is and it isn't.  It's a big river.  I drove up A from the Mississippi past about 4 spots detailed in the book and one other I had heard about.  2 spots had one car.  One had none and the other had at least 7.  Since I haven't fished that spot I have no idea why so many people were out there but geez.  If I see two cars I move on to somewhere else.  I look for no cars or one if it is a crowded weekend.  There are plenty of fish and spots on the river.  I wouldn't want to fish with 10 other people on a section of river anyway.  I moved on to another spot, saw one car parked and saw the guy walking down stream.  I parked and headed up.  I saw one guy coming back down and I worked past him up stream.  I didn't see another person until I got back to the 3 pools closest to the access point.  All three were occupied.  The funny thing is I only caught one fish out of those three pools on my way out.  Up stream a half mile or so I got 8, almost all on #20 or #18 (after I destroyed my #20s form catching so many fish I switched to 18s) BWOs.  The pressure is super high at the bridge crossings and the first few pools but if you get out to the 7th or 8th pool, chances are you will be the only one out there and the fishing will be better.  I do the same thing at the lower Kinny when there are lots of people.  I walk out until I pass two runs or pools with no one in them then I work my way back.  Usually, by the time I get back to the popular pools they are empty.  Moral of the story is get out and walk until it's not crowded anymore.  You will catch more fish, get better exercise and not waste your time on a bunch of spooked fish. 

Wide, and not shaded.  The Rush has some challenging runs

Only fish I got on a nymph.  #18 BH flashback pheasant tail.  Smaller than average fish for the Rush

Below is a video of the BWO hatch last Sunday.  Pretty consistent like that for hours.

    Another early season thing to consider is shade.  The Rush is wide in spots and the trees this time of year are not shading any part of the stream most of the day.  Generally, fish stay out of bright runs or feeding lanes when there is no shade.  If they are out there it won't take much to send them to the bank for safety.  The good thing is fish are hungry this time of year, so there may be feeding fish out in a sunny spot anyway.  Look for spots with a little shade though;  I think the fishing will be a bit better there.  Later in the day when the shadows get longer may be the best bet this time of year. 
    Cloudy days this time of year are a great thing.  This Saturday looks like it might be a great day for a BWO hatch.  I got a nice 14-15 incher on the Rush last Sunday on a #20 BWO.  Still working on my 20-20 club though.  (20 inch fish on a size 20 fly)

Nice 14 incher on a #20 BWO.  Glad I had my net.  This guy hit the fly and just sat there in the current for a few seconds with me pulling on him.  Then he decided he'd had enough and headed for the deep bank side. 

My last #20 BWO.  Mangle.  Got a few more on #18s