Rush River

I got out for a few hours yesterday and today on the Rush. The water has completely cleared from last week’s runoff. The fishing was slower than I expected, but I caught around 15-20 each day. I imagine it was better a couple days ago when there was more of a stain, but I was out of town for work. I fished a combination of hare’s ears, pheasant tails, and zebra midges, but an unweighted size 16 pheasant tail was the most productive, with plenty taking the black size 18 zebra midge as well. I also fished streamers for the last hour of my outing yesterday and was able to land two.

As I was leaving yesterday around 4:00, there were also a fair amount of fish rising to what I believe were BWO emergers. There were clearing BWOs in the air, but the fish were sipping just under the surface, often not even making a splash. However, in my brief attempt to fish an emerger under a dry, I couldn’t get one to eat. You win some; you lose some.

These next couple weeks should offer some of the best fly fishing of the year. It’s also the time when the accesses get the most crowded. If your favorite bridge already has a few cars on it, don’t hesitate to fish another spot. There’s plenty of great water in Pierce County and the surrounding area — you just might find a hidden gem of your own!

My dad, Aric, and I went out on the Rush from about 9:00 to noon on Sunday. We spent the entire outing nymphing, although we saw a few trout rising to emerging midges. We ran standard nymphs — pheasant tails, hare’s ears, and princes — with size 18 or 20 black zebra midges below, and caught almost all our 20-ish combined fish on the nymphs. The action was definitely faster earlier in the morning and started slowing down as the air got warmer, increasing the snow melt and cooling the water. Until all the snow melts off make sure to get out early before the stream temps begin to fall. You can definitely catch fish all day, but the best action will be earlier!

I was able to fish the Rush a couple times this week. Nymphing was the most productive, especially in the hour or two before dark. The bigger fish seemed to head to the riffles just as the sun got below the horizon, and I was able to catch a few in the 14-16 range — too dark for photos, unfortunately. The same, standard nymphs — Pheasant Tails, Euro PTs, and midges — did the job, although more fish have favored the midge lately. There was a really good midge hatch yesterday with lots of rises for about an hour, but after going through my fly box I could only get one to take a purple Hippie Stomper — I just didn’t have any midge dries that were small enough to match the hatch. Sulphurs were coming off in good numbers earlier this week as well, with lots of rising right before dark.

Now is definitely the time to focus on the early mornings and late evenings. Staying after dark to swing some streamers can be productive too!

I was able to get out for a couple hours after work tonight from about 7:30 to dark. Figuring the runs closer to the bridge had gotten fished pretty hard over the weekend, I hiked upstream for a half mile or so before starting to fish. I pulled five fish out of both runs I fished nymphing with a size 16 Tungsten Torpedo and size 20 black Zebra Midge. One of them was a nice 16-incher, as well as a couple more around 12″.

Once it started getting dark I tied on a black leech pattern to swing through the riffles on my way back to the car. This caught me just one brown, a 12-incher.

There was also a good sulphur hatch just before dark with plenty of surfacing, but I was determined to get it done streamer fishing. It’s a great time to be on the streams!

Dad and I fished after work this evening from about 6:30 to 9:00. The stream was in great condition after the last rains — still a little high with a slight stain. Dad ended up catching five browns on a Copper John and zebra midge, with all but one coming on the Copper John. I caught thirteen or fourteen on a Tungsten Torpedo jig nymph variation and a red and black midge. Dad had the big fish of the night though, with this nice 14 or 15″ right before dark.

Most of our fish were caught in shallow pocket water — the deeper runs weren’t very productive tonight. There wasn’t much rising, other than to the occasional BWO. It looks like we’ll have great conditions for fishing through the weekend!

I hit the Rush for a bit after Mother’s Day dinner from about 6:30 to 9:00. With the low, clear water the fishing was difficult when the sun was still high in the air, but as soon as it hit the horizon it was game on. Fish were readily eating black zebra midges, but were also surfacing a bit to the midges, BWOs, and caddis that were in the air. I caught around 15-20 fish on the outing, with about 80% taking the zebra midge over the Euro pheasant tail. We’ll see how much the rains this week muddy up the streams; we could definitely use some!

Aric and I fished the Rush from about noon to 4:00. The stream was still slightly stained from Thursday’s rains making for perfect fishing conditions. Aric started the outing off by quickly catching 6-8 fish within the first couple minutes. As I was tying on my nymph rig, I heard him yell that he had a big one on. I hustled downstream and netted his biggest fish to date!

I quickly plucked around ten fish from my first run of the day, with a few around 12-13 inches. I moved upstream to the next run and after only catching two or three fish in about ten minutes, I put another split shot on my leader. Within my first half-dozen casts, my indicator plunged underwater and I felt a strong tug. After a short fight, I had my biggest fish of the year in my net!

We worked our way upstream for a couple more runs, picking off a few fish in each, but nothing nearly as big as those two. We ended the day with about 35-40 fish between us. Aric was using a size 14 pink squirrel with a size 16 pheasant tail below, while I used a size 16 olive Euro pheasant tail with a size 18 standard Euro PT below. We both caught about equal fish on both flies.

I also went out on the Rush Friday night for a couple hours after work. The water visibility was only about a foot, so I fished a black leech streamer for the entire outing. I only caught two fish, but one was around 16-17 inches. I missed a handful more. I’ve tried to focus more on streamers this year and I’m definitely gaining more confidence every time. Catching some bigger fish is always fun too!

The stained water definitely made for some great fishing over the weekend!

I’ve been out the past couple of days guiding clients and family. Nymphing has been the most successful during both mornings and evenings on pheasant tail variants, scuds, and zebra midges. I did run into a decent hatch of tricos in the morning, but the trout weren’t rising very often, with only a couple little ones splashing at a trico spinner pattern. In the evenings there are a few small BWOs coming off, and a couple trout took a hippie stomper as well.

 

I fished the Rush tonight from about 8:00 to dark. There was very little rising when I got to the stream, so I started the night nymphing with a Euro pheasant tail nymph and zebra midge. The fish were very willing and I caught fish on probably every two or three drifts. I caught many around 6-9 inches, and one around 13-14. Fish were holding in riffles between 1-2 feet deep. Pocket water was really productive as well. I talked to another fisherman on the way out that had success swinging BWO dries through pools just before dark.

It looks like last night’s rain didn’t effect the streams very much, so the fishing should continue to be good. Focus on the cooler times of the day. If you’re looking for that big one, mousing after dark should be pretty good as well.

I fished the Rush tonight from about 8:00 until dark. There was very little surface activity when I arrived, so I started out with a Euro pheasant tail nymph and zebra midge. I caught five or six small browns and brookies on the nymph rig before getting to a deeper pool where there were quite a few risers. It looked like they were rising to midges, and since it was getting dark I didn’t feel like tying on a Griffith’s Gnat and barely being able to see it on the water, so I tied on a hippy stomper. I quickly pulled three browns out of the pool on the stomper before it was too dark to see the fly, including one around 11-12 inches to finish off the night.