Kinnikinnick River July Fishing Report

I had a chance to escape to some of my favorite St. Croix and Pierce County Wisconsin streams this last week. To my surprise on both the Kinnikinnick and the Rush there were large hatches of small flies. Naturally matching these produced best results. Smaller dries took fish, as did small terrestrials, grasshoppers were fished without luck.

On a day on the rush river I stuck to my spinning reel alone and was able to connect with a few healthy brown trout as well as a large brook trout and a couple of it's younger siblings. Very small silver spoons swung across the current took fish, as well as small, gold bladed panther martins fished both downstream and across current.

Remember this time of year the fish are very spooky, shallow feeding fish were spooked by the slightest site of me, crawling up through the grass, swinging the rod out from behind trees or large boulders produced many more fish than simply walking up to the riverside and shooting at the most favorable trout lie.

Fish were taken from deep, slow pools that had a thick canopy over them, as well as from very shallow, fast running riffles, but most large fish were taken from deeper medium speed pools and bends in the river.

The further from an easy access you get the better you will do. Once I got a mile away from the bridge I parked at the fishing really started picking up, even in spots you might not think would hold trout.

Get out to the Kinnickinick river, Pine creek, the Rush River, or the Willow River now while the weather is warm, the flies aren't to bad, the water is full of suckers, and where some big lazy summer trout are holding in deeper pools where they can be targeted. Good luck out there on the rivers!