West Rush

A targeted survey of the nearshore fish community was conducted by Hinckley fisheries staff on West Rush Lake on August 22, 2025. Nearshore sampling captured 21 species of fish: Banded Kilifish, Black Crappie, Blacknose Shiner, Bluegill, Brown Bullhead, Central Mudminnow, Common Carp, Fathead Minnow, Golden Shiner, Green Sunfish, Hybrid Sunfish, Iowa Darter, Johnny Darter, Largemouth Bass, Muskellunge, Northern Pike, Pumpkinseed, Spottail Shiner, Tadpole Madtom, Yellow Bullhead, and Yellow Perch. The nearshore survey data is combined with standard gill and trap netting survey data from previous West Rush Lake surveys to calculate a Fish IBI (FIBI) score and helps assess aquatic life in West Rush Lake. The FIBI score for West Rush Lake based on this survey is below the impairment threshold for aquatic life use determined for similar lakes. This survey is contributing to a watershed assessment process in coordination with the MN Pollution Control Agency. For additional information on the FIBI, search for "lake index of biological integrity" on the mndnr.gov website.

West Rush is a 1,594-acre lake is in northwestern Chisago County located five miles west of Rush City and is within the Lower St. Croix River Watershed. It has a maximum depth of 42 feet and an average depth of 11 feet. The lake is 54% littoral (15 feet or less, 862 acres). Water clarity is low with Secchi depths between 2 and 3 feet. Its color is green due to algae blooms. West Rush Lake has eight small inlets with seasonal or intermittent flows, and one outlet that connects to East Rush Lake and eventually Rush Creek, which flows directly into the St. Croix River. Although West Rush has a diverse submergent and emergent plant community, plant depths are limited to depths less than 5 feet due to low water clarity. Curlyleaf Pondweed and Eurasian Watermilfoil are present, which are non-native invasive species. Although emergent vegetation has declined from its historical abundance, West Rush continues to have a diverse emergent plant community, with Hardstem Bullrush being the most common. Substrates consist of muck, sand, and gravel. The shoreline is highly developed, where development is possible, with approximately 290 homes (15/shoreline mile) and 2 RV parks. A County Park is located on the northern shore and there is a Scientific Natural Area located on an island in the southern basin of the lake. A state-owned access is located on the west-central shoreline with 2 concrete ramps and parking spaces for 40 vehicles with trailers. The lake is also connected to East Rush Lake by a man-made navigable channel, where a separate public access is present. There have been a total of 14 fish surveys completed to monitor for changes in species composition, number, and length distribution. Angers fishing West Rush Lake can expect Walleye, Muskellunge, Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, and Yellow Perch populations that have good numbers and size. The Black Crappie and Bluegill populations currently have average numbers and size structure. Walleyes were stocked initially in 1945 and have been sampled in all 14 standard surveys since. In 2025, the gill net catch rate was 1.6/net, which compares to the average of 2.1/net. Catch rates varied between 0.3/net in 2012 to 7.9/net in 1957. The 18 Walleye sampled ranged from 13.6 to 21.9 inches and had an average length of 18.7 inches. Walleyes over 20 inches have been sampled in each of the past 8 surveys, while Walleyes over 25 inches have been sampled in five of the past eight surveys. Overall, anglers that fish West Rush Lake for Walleyes can expect to catch lower numbers of 16 to 22-inch fish. Northern pike catch rates are generally low in West Rush Lake, and the 2025 gill net catch rate was no exception. A total of 11 Northern Pike were sampled in gill nets which resulted in a catch rate of 1.0/net. Gill net catch rates have varied between 0.4/net in 2016 to 2.3/net in 1957 and have averaged 1.5/net. Research indicates pike catch rates over 7.5/net are undesirable, as they are usually associated with higher density populations having poor size structure and slow growth. Higher pike densities can also have detrimental effects on stocked Walleye survival and perch populations. Perch are often a primary prey species. Therefore, the pike population in West Rush is ideal, as it has lower density and quality size structure. The pike sampled ranged from 21.8 to 34.4 inches and averaged 27.5 inches. Pike over 28 inches have been sampled in each of the past eight surveys, while pike over 34 inches have been sampled in 4 of the past 8 surveys. There are special regulations in place on West Rush that protect pike from 26 to 40 inches. Eight of the 11 pike sampled in 2025 occurred within this protected slot. Overall, anglers that fish West Rush for pike can expect to catch low numbers of quality sized pike with a chance of catching one over 34 inches. Night electrofishing surveys to evaluate Largemouth Bass relative abundance and size structure were conducted in June 2025 for the seventh consecutive survey. The 2025 catch rate was 31/hour which compares with the average of 27/hour. Catch rates have varied from 11/hour in 2016 to 38/hour in 2021. Lengths of bass sampled ranged from 4.3 to 20.0 inches and averaged 12.4 inches. Bass over 15 inches have been sampled in all seven electrofishing surveys, while bass over 20 inches were sampled in two. Overall, anglers that fish West Rush Lake for bass can expect to catch lower numbers of quality sized bass with a chance of catching one over 20 inches. The Black Crappie gill and trap net catch rates were above average and average. The gill net catch in 2025 was 36/net, which compares to the average of 18/net. The trap net catch was 6/net, which compares to the average of 6/net. Black Crappies are more consistently sampled in gill nets in West Rush Lake. Crappies caught in gill nets ranged in length from 4.3 to 10.6 inches and had an average length of 6.9 inches. Black Crappies over 8 inches were sampled in the past eight surveys, while crappies over 10 inches were sampled in five. Crappies over 12 inches have never been sampled. Overall, anglers that fish West Rush for Black Crappies can expect to catch moderate numbers of 7 to 9-inch fish. Bluegill trap net catch rates in 2025 continued to be moderate. The trap net catch in 2025 was 10.6/net, similar to the average of 10.7/net. Trap net catch rates have varied from 0.8/net in 1992 to 24.9/net in 2016. Bluegill lengths ranged from 2.9 to 8.5 inches and averaged 5.3 inches in trap nets. Anglers targeting Bluegill on West Rush Lake can expect to catch moderate numbers of 6 to 8 inch fish. Yellow Perch gill net catch rates have remained high throughout all surveys. Catch rates in 2025 were 71/net and compare to the average of 60/net. Gill net catch rates have varied from 22/net in 1977 to 115/net in 1982. The perch sampled in 2025 ranged from 5.2 to 9.1 inches and had an average length of 7.0 inches. Perch over 8 inches have been sampled in the past 8 surveys, while perch over 10 inches were sampled in three. This is a unique perch fishery in the Hinckley Fisheries Area, in that the number and size will likely interest anglers. Perch also provide an important prey source for most gamefish targeted by anglers. Additional gamefish species sampled included Bigmouth Buffalo, Brown Bullhead, Bowfin, Common Carp, Freshwater Drum, Hybrid Sunfish, Muskellunge, Pumpkinseed, and Yellow Bullhead. Additional non-game species sampled include Blacknose Shiner, Banded Killifish, Central Mudminnow, Fathead Minnow, Golden Shiner, Iowa Darter, Johnny Darter, Spottail Shiner, Tadpole Madtom, and White Sucker.

West Rush Lake is a 1,464-acre lake located in Chisago County. The lake is managed primarily for Walleye, Muskellunge, and Northern Pike, with Black Crappie, Bluegill, and Largemouth Bass as secondary management species. In order to assess the current status of the fish community, a population assessment was conducted in August of 2021 with gill nets and trap nets. Night electrofishing was conducted on June 1 for Largemouth Bass. The Northern Pike gill net catch was 2.1 per net as compared to 0.4 per net in the previous survey in 2016. The 2021 catch was also above the long-term average of 1.53 pike per gill net. The catch was tied for the highest gill net catch by number to 1997 with 25 caught. Sampled Northern Pike (gill net and trap net combined) ranged from 17.5 to 37.9 inches in 2021. The mean length for the combined sample was 28.9 inches. The current Northern Pike special regulation (26 to 40 inch protected slot, 3 fish bag limit, only one can be over 40 inches) appears to have increased the number of fish over 30 inches in the lake (41% of the fish in the 2021 sample were 30 inches or larger), although fish over 40 inches are likely rare, as none have been captured in sampling gear to this point. The Walleye gill net catch was 1.0 per net, double the 2016 catch rate of 0.5 per net, but below the long-term average of 1.7 per net. Sampled Walleye (gill net and trap net combined) ranged from 13.6 to 26.4 inches, with a mean length of 20.5 inches. Currently the Walleye population is below long-term averages based on gill net catches, but the average size of fish is larger. Yellow Perch, primary forage for both Northern Pike and Walleye, have historically been high in abundance and the 2021 catch was no exception. It was the fifth highest gill net catch ever with a total catch of 73.8 per net as compared to 74.8 per net in 2016. Most of the fish were between 7.0 and 7.5 inches. The average length for Yellow Perch was 7.4 inches with a range from 5.3 to 10.9 inches. The high number of perch should provide ample forage for game fish, and 22% of the Yellow Perch were 8 inches and larger, so there are also some that anglers can target as well. Gill net catch of Black Crappie in 2021 indicated high abundance. The 2021 catch was the fifth highest catch historically, both in rate and number, at 285 fish for a catch rate of 23.8 fish per set. This was above the long-term average of 18.2 per set. Sampled Black Crappie (from both trap nets and gill nets) ranged in size from 4.1 to 10.8 inches with most fish from 5.0 to 5.9 inches in length. Gill net mean length was 6.5 inches and trap net mean length was 8.7 inches. The 2021 Bluegill catch rate was 11.3 fish per trap net, slightly below the long-term average catch rate for Bluegill. Bluegill were also caught in gill nets. Size range for trap nets was 2.8 to 8.7 inches, with an average of 5.6 inches. 34 percent of the catch were 7 inches or greater in length. Size range for gill nets was 4.1 to 8.4 inches, with an average of 7.2 inches. The Largemouth Bass catch rate of 38.1 per hour was the highest since electrofishing first began in 1997. Mean length was 11.5 inches with a length range of 3.9 to 17.3 inches. Overall, the fishing on West Rush Lake for many species should be quite good. There are good numbers of Yellow Perch, Black Crappie, Bluegill, Largemouth Bass, and Northern Pike based on 2021 sampling with gill nets, trap nets, and electrofishing. Currently the Walleye population appears to be lower than the long term average but above the previous survey in 2016. A large percentage of the Northern Pike population is currently a nice size (30 inches and over). Muskellunge are sampled independently and on a 5- to 6- year frequency.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Muskellunge, White Crappie, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, and Walleye in West Rush. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

Minnesota DNR records list public access for West Rush. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for the launch type and directions before you go.

West Rush has a maximum depth of 42 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in West Rush is from 2025.

Yes — West Rush has confirmed Eurasian watermilfoil. Clean, drain, and dry your equipment to avoid spreading invasives to other waters.