Fishing at Rushes Lake, Menominee County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  Set in Menominee County, Rushes Lake is a Wisconsin water. Country round the bank runs to lake country bush. It runs to roughly 25 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Shoreline comes to about 1.4 miles, small enough to learn in a day. Ground here is low by Wisconsin standards. For supplies, Legend Lake is 3.5 miles out. Then Keshena, 6.3 miles, and Shawano, 12 miles. The boundary is near enough that local access rules are worth double-checking.

• Where to Fish on Rushes Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Menominee County records list brown trout, northern pike, largemouth bass and bluegill among the fish reported. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. On Rushes Lake the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 68°F, while January sits near 13°F. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around mid April. The season between ice runs from about mid April to early December. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. That is the shape of the year on Rushes Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. If the gate is shut, Waukau Lake at 3.2 miles is the nearest alternative. Confirm access to Rushes Lake locally before you travel.