MN Rush Lake Fishing

Fishing on Rush Lake

Remember that you can not bring Bait into Minnesota they are trying to keep invasive species out of the lakes so you can't bring bait from outside of Minnesota

The normal best colors for fishing Rush Lake are:

Chartreuse
White
Black

The water clarity/visibility is 6-10 feet because of the live iron in the water, so the fish don't see the boat and get spooked. Fishing during the day is the normal way too fish Rush Lake, so nobody really fish's at night as the daytime fishing is very good.

Rush Lake has allot of structure the average depth is 15 feet with many drop-offs, bars and different weed lines along with different bottoms (sand, muck, rock, weeds) to fish what rush lake doesn't have is fallen logs or rock bars that are close to the surface to hit with your propeller so your boat is safe. You really need a depth finder to fish Rush Lake as it can change depths very quickly but that makes trolling or drift fishing a way to find what depth the fish are at. .

Walleye: The most common way to fish for walleye on rush lake is jigging tipped with a minnow or leach, nightcrawlers don't work as well (well for me anyway). Live bait seams to be your best bet all year long but their will be times that artificial lures , trolling and/or casting plugs will provide better walleye action (usually when it's really hot, clear sky's and calm winds or later in the year).

The walleye's are the most active and easiest to catch when the shinner minnows are running in the early spring (opener until about the 1st week in June depends on the water temperature) , you will need to use shinners when they are running as that's all that they are eating, It's walleye candy (shinners) so they don't want anything else, until the run is over.

Northern Pike: Trolling with some kind of flashing lure works best along the weed line. A red and white ( daredevil type ) is always a good one to try, live bait will also produce a few Northern pike for the dinner table. Great eating just remove the Y-bone (really not very hard to do).

Largemouth Bass: Fishing for Largemouth bass on rush lake is always fun just a casting lure in the weeds and around some of the docks. The better eater size fish 2-4 lbs are easily found in the spring through summer the fall seems to be better fishing for the larger size Largemouth bass in the 3-6 lb range I guess they just put the weight on over the summer.

Bullheads yes 3 different kinds Black, Brown, Yellow belly we catch them off the dock about a hour after sunset with a worm on the bottom. 2-3lb good eaters just a pain to clean.

Rush Lake is 5,338 Acres

of Minnesota Excellent Fishing

Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie, Large-mouth Bass, Sunfish, Bluegill, Perch, Rock Bass, 3 different Bullheads, are all waiting here for you. It's one of Minnesota's best overall fishing spots.

Minnesota DNR Rush Lake map

Panfish are all over rush lake and the kids can catch some off the dock small and large sunfish and yes the keeper size do move in close to the docks at times.

One of the best panfish spots is the pencil reeds just a few blocks east of Four Seasons Resort on rush lake, nightcrawers work best for me to catch some bluegills, sunfish and such, wax worms will work for the panfish, I find that is true mostly in the fall.

Crappies: The spring is usually the easiest time to find them guarding the spawn beds (around Memorial weekend is a good bet). A minnow or leach works best during the spring later artificial leaches will work. Crappies during the summer and fall can be found around rush lake you just don't find them schooled up like in the spring. So it's 1-2 crappies here, 1-2 crappie there kind of fishing just takes a little more work.

Rock Bass are good eating on Rush Lake the flesh is firm and tasty all through the summer late in the fall they start to pick up the bass taste but are still great eating. Rock Bass can be found all over Rush Lake and are very easy to catch as they are a aggressive fish. Like all the pan-fish worms & nightcrawlers work best for me.

Sunfish & Bluegills are my favorite eating fish on Rush Lake you will find them in the pencil reeds, around docks and a few holes found around the lake. Bobber fishing with a piece of nightcrawler is how I catch dinner.

Perch are in rush lake but keeper size are hard to find they do show up from time to time, but mostly just a little small to keep, if you want perch you can always go lake hopping, the best lake for them is Ottertail just down the road 3 miles.

You maybe wondering about the parasites (little worms in the flesh look like dots) that you have found in pan-fish, sunfish, rock bass, bluegills and perch on other lakes. You need to look for parasites on small shallow lakes when the water warms up and gets hot in the summer and fall, that doesn't happen on Rush lakes 5,338 acres they stay cooler and fresh from the Ottertail river flowing through it, so the pan-fish in rush lake don't normally have any parasites in them (yes you can eat them with parasites as they don't woun't harm people when cooked but I don't).

Your best bet is to hire a guide at the beginning of your vacation so you know where and how to catch what you are fishing for, be careful that you hire a guide that fishes Rush lake. Some of the guides will take you out on Rush Lake after a hour tell you they aren't biting (they don't know the lake) and then take you over to another lake where they know how to fish as that's the lake they are out on everyday because they want to get paid for you catching fish. .

Check The Size of your fish on the Catch and Release Chart

if you have a question just ask call or email

Hope to see you at the lake

Minnesota Fishing limits & regulations
(Possession total is, in the boat, freezer & refrigerators everything counts)

Sunfish… 20 per license Possession total   Rock Bass….. 30 per license Possession total

Crappie… 10 per license Possession total   Bullhead…….100 per license Possession total

Perch…… 40 per license Possession total   (per license 20 daily & 40 total possession)

Bass……   6 per license Possession total (Largemouth & Smallmouth either or combined)

Walleye… 6 per license Possession total (Not more than 1 per license over 20” per day)
Northern Pike 3 per license Possession total    (Not more than 1 per license over 30” per day)

We are A Minnesota Mom & Pop, one of the Best Family Fun Fishing Resorts that has, Park-like grounds, Sandy Beach, 8 Spacious Cottages each one Nicely Furnished with Air Conditioning, Microwaves, Cable TV, Wi-Fi, and more, plus a Wonderful Picture Window overlooking Rush Lake in Otter Tail MN. Our cabins on Rush lake are very comfy.!