West Rush...

[Cowgirladdict]

all i can say is WOW there is a ton of people fishing this lake, ice was 7-8 inches, was out about 3 hours and did good, was fun to watch all the crazies out there!!!!

[holepopper]

DID WELL YESTERDAY. GOT OUT FISHING ABOUT 3PM AND THE BITE WAS REALLY GOOD. THEN ABOUT 6PM-10:30PM WAS VERY SLOW NOT MANY TAKERS. 8" OF ICE AND 2" WATER ON TOP WHEN I LEFT. ENDED UP CATCHING ALOT BUT BIGGEST 10". 1 BAD THING WAS HAD COUPLE DRUNKS BY US ALL NIGHT RUNNING ALL AROUND ON THE 4WHHEELERS.

[crappieflop]

i second the drunks on the ice, had them all around us. i thought i was on a jet ski instead of the four wheeler when we came of at 9:00pm. we caught a 20-25 medium crappies, missed some big ones and a couple flags. i found it a little tricky without a vex to pinpoint the biting depth, overall not a bad day,better than at home and thinking of fishing like today. but by the fishing gods i'll be out there tommarrow

[Bigfife]

There is 1-5 inches of water/slush/snow on 8 inches of deteriorating ice. The 10 inch holes have opened to 15 inches. Wear snow shoes to avoid falling in one. Caught 60 crappies with only 2 worth talking about. 80% of our catch was under 6 inches. I have no plans on hitting the lake for quite some time. The ice looked sketchy and all the holes are very dangerous. My buddy and I both went in over our knees because we couldn't see through the snow. Could have been a couple broken ankles or legs. Someone remind me why people need a 10" auger.

[Guest]

It is simply DANGEROUS on west rush right now. Aside from breaking a leg in the expanding holes, I wouldnt recommend anyone under 160# out there or I GUARANTEE you will fit down some of the holes(unless your 4'3" tall and 160#)

We had the ice sagging on us in a major way, I moved my 4 wheeler to *high ground* (out of standing water) and then I had 2" of standing water within seconds. There was water running down many of the holes so fast it shaped them like a funnel, and not only made them huge(15" diameter), but some were freaky thin ice.

If anyone decides to head out there... DO NOT BRING YOUR KIDS! At least until everything freezes up again(feb at this rate)

[fishinrush]

Was out on West on Saturday. The ice heaves by crane island are pretty nasty.

We took the 4 wheeler across one of them , in a spot where others had went across. Needless to say as my dad was driving the wheeler I was on my knees on the back ready to bail. I figured that if we went through maybe I could jump to good ice. Not a good feeling.

Once the rain picked up(around 5 pm or so) the lake really looked sketchy. It's hard to see weak spots when the entire lake is covered in 2" of water. I was gald when we made it safe back to the access.

The travel cover on the otter lodge came in real handy as we dumped off what appeared to be 3 gallons of sloppy ice/ water once we made it back to the truck.

[dilleyo]

I went out yesterday for a few hours and it looks like all of the water that was on top of the ice has went away. Went out of the public access to the village in about 32' of water. Marked and caught crappies all day. No real giants though, biggest one was about 10 1/2". All others I kept were between 9 and 9 1/2". A lot of little ones to pick through. Pretty fun to have constant action all day long.

[fishinrush]

That's the way Rush has been this year. It's a good spot to take the kids, especially those new to ice fishing.

[ffjoef]

Going to fish west rush this weekend for the first time.just wondering if there is anything i should look out for right now. open water etc. And also wondering what access would be the best to go out of to get to a decent spot. any info would be great. Thanks

["another IT GUY"]

ffjoef, fish in 30-40 of water and they will lite up on the vex! Good Luck!

[ffjoef]

I appreciate the response ITGuy Thanks

[evinrude19]

any one know where there is open water?

[Snake River King]

how much ice is out there havent been out there in 2 weeks?

[GeorgeSr]

This was on TV Channel 9

There's a video on their website showing where he fell in.

Man Falls Through Ice in Rescue Attempt

Last Edited: Friday, 05 Jan 2007, 10:37 PM CST

Created: Friday, 05 Jan 2007, 10:37 PM CST

Man Falls Through Ice Trying to Rescue Another Man A man who tried to rescue another man who had fallen through lake ice fell through the ice himself, the Chisago County Sheriff’s Department says.

The incident occurred at approximately 2:30 Friday afternoon on West Rush Lake in Chisago County.

The first man who fell through was driving an ATV that fell through the water. The second man fell through as he attempted to rescue the first victim.

Both men were later rescued by other fishermen in the area, and were treated and released by Lakes Area EMS.

The Chisago County Sheriff’s Department, Lakes Area EMS, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Rush City Fire Department all provided assistance.

[Cowgirladdict]

Thank you for the info GeorgeSr. and welcome to the FM site

[Bigfife]

My brother was out Sunday, and it was the same story. He moved around a lot, but still found tons of little guys. Only brought home one nice crappie and a couple nice gills. Still had fun though.

[mojocatt]

Is that you keeping your distance from the crowd or the crowd keeping it's distance from you?

["another IT GUY"]

was out 1/6/06 fished 2 til 9. Lots of fish on the x67. Caught a quite a few fish, took home 8 nice crappies, one gill and a couple perch. Lots of action, but slowed down after dark. Was fishing in 25-32 fow. it was fun!!

FFjoe, how did you do?? did you make it out???

[ffjoef]

I did not make it out Sat ITGUY, The person i was going to go with backed out. Instead i went to green lake near princeton.I hope to make it out this Sat,for a few hours.I never fished it so it should be interesting. I hear good things about the lake,so it should be fun.Sounds like a good day for you though on rush.

[crdsrob]

I'm going to try West Rush this week. Never fished it before and I'm trying to find a decent lake to bring my kids to. Could someone tell me what the ice conditions are? Also, I don't have a 4 wheeler so I will be walking out. What's the best spot to get out on the lake? I'll be pulling my house so less walking is better!

Thanks for your help - rob

[crewdog]

i'm also looking for some ice conditions. not going to get out until 3:30-4:00 pm. Would like to venture away from the cigar island vortex that seems to suck in all walking fisherman. Really would like to know were some of the bad ice spots are since i'll stay pretty late. have a couple of spots i would normally fish but do'nt want to venture too far on unfamilar ice

[Uncle Bill]

Park at the public landing on W. Rush and walk out to the "Village".

You will see it.

Fish 30+ feet and you should get some action. Crappy minnows and waxies.

(10 inches of ice)

Good Luck

[crdsrob]

Thanks for the help. Hope to go out tomorrow. I'm waiting to see if my neighbor can go to.

Rob

[XoneD]

I was up there a couple of weeks ago and did will by Cigar and did pretty well. Went home with a mixture of24 Crappies and Sunnies. Would have stayed longer if the house hadn't started leaking from the rain that was falling.

With the upcoming cold snap, what would are the chances that there will be vehicle traffic on the lake?

[eazzye]

Anything biting the other night? Going out tonight at 4. How was the ice?

[g_anoka]

Heading out tomorrow morning. Hopefully we won't freeze our

tails off. At least this is good ice making weather. Good luck and see you on the lake.

[evinrude19]

me2 im going tomorrow morning also i just hope i dont freeze does any know where they are like depth it would help out alot?

[g_anoka]

Was out all day until 7, away from the village. Alot of perch all day, thne crappies in the evening, brought home 5, but alot of small ones. About 12 inches of ice where we were.

[eazzye]

same here, was out sunday afternoon. Lot of crappies but no size to them. A lot of fun though, fishing shallower water so didn't kill any too.

[Coach]

How much snow did Rush get?