Rush Lake fishing: Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Walleye

Target species: Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Walleye, Black Bullhead, Shorthead Redhorse, White Sucker, Black Crappie
Boat: 2 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Rush Lake (E) Public Water Access Site, 1 lane.

The lake

Rush Lake covers 5,228 acres in Minnesota, across Otter Tail County. It is a lake: 94.7% of it is 30 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 65 feet (19.8 m). Our records hold 17 species for this water.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 65 ft (19.8 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 94.7% of the water is 30 feet or shallower. We hold 54 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–5 ft: 36.8% of the water
  • 5–10 ft: 13.5% of the water
  • 10–15 ft: 13.1% of the water
  • 15–20 ft: 15.4% of the water
  • 20–25 ft: 10.4% of the water
  • 25–30 ft: 5.5% of the water
  • 30–35 ft: 4.5% of the water
  • 35–40 ft: 0.5% of the water
  • 40–45 ft: 0.1% of the water
  • 45–50 ft: 0.1% of the water
  • 50–55 ft: 0.1% of the water

7 target fish, led by Largemouth Bass

  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Northern Pike — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Black Bullhead — Feeding water: 70–80°F.
  • Shorthead Redhorse — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
  • White Sucker — Feeding water: 50–70°F.
  • Black Crappie — Feeding water: 65–75°F.

Also recorded here: Bluegill, Cisco, Rock Bass, Yellow Perch, Green Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, Bowfin, Brown Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead, Common Carp.

Water and conditions

Water clarity runs 5.4–11.2 feet on our readings, averaging 7.8 feet, from 120 readings. Our water temperature readings average 70°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 8.6. These readings span 2017–2025.

2 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 2 trailer ramps.

  • Rush Lake (E) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
  • Rush Lake (W) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane, restrooms. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.

Fee and opening hours are blank for all 2 places in this list: a blank means we hold no such field, not that it is free or always open, and this list may not be complete.

What is hard here

Wind is the limit, not the fish: 5,228 acres of open water build a short steep chop, and there is no shelter in the middle. Only 2 public ramps are on file, so the launch decides where you fish.

Where this data comes from

  • Minnesota DNR — Minnesota DNR: depth contours: class A, a survey of the bottom.
  • Minnesota DNR — Minnesota DNR: reported depths: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
  • Webster, K.E., McCullough, I.M., Soranno, P.A. LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0, EDI, doi:10.6073/pasta/64ddc4d04661d9aef4bd702dc5d8984f (CC BY 4.0); Cheruvelil et al. LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 (EDI) — LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0: Lake depth for 17,675 lakes in the conterminous U.S.: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.