There’s nobody who knows the Cumberland River better than Johnny Rush, with one possible exception, his father John Rush.

The father and son team run the Rainbow Guide Service out of their hometown of Burkesville. They guide fishermen who are after rainbow and brown trout or big stripers on the Cumberland River and smallmouth bass on Dale Hollow Lake. They are Burkesville natives and have more than 20 years experience in taking parties out on the river and the lake. Both have fished these waters all their lives.

Johnny Rush gave up his job as a welder 18 years ago to guide fulltime. Prior to that, he had helped his father guide occasionally. I had the pleasure last week, along with Uncle Ed, of tagging along with Johnny on a search for big browns on the river. It was a cold and blustery day and even though the conditions were not ideal, we managed to catch over a dozen nice-size trout. A big brown must be 21 inches long to keep on the river. February and March are good months to catch big browns on the river when the water temperature in below 50 degrees. Johnny’s best recent catch was an 8 pounder in January.

When you go out with Johnny Rush, all you need is an ambition to catch a big trout. He provides everything else, all the bait and equipment you’ll need to be successful. He uses a huge flat bottom boat, especially built for the river. It’s spacious and comfortable and Johnny makes fishing very easy, letting the fishermen do as much or as little as he or she chooses.

He fishes about 200 days a year and he always knows where the fish are and what they are hitting. I was amazed when he would come to a spot in the river and tell us, “Get ready now, you’re going to get bitten here.” And he was right. Each time he would tell us to be ready, one of us would get a bite.

John and Johnny’s guide rates are among the most reasonable on the river, $175 for two for a half day or $250 for two for a full day and $50 for a third fisherman. We spent about three hours on the water and had plenty of action.

Things are not all that busy now but if you plan to go during the summer, you’ll need to book them at least two or three weeks ahead.

They can be reached at (270) 459-0621 or (270) 433-5473 or you can look them up at www.rainbowguideservice.fghp.com.

Staying with fishing on the river, we were told this week by Todd Logsdon that the sauger are still going wild there. He and son Tyler and a friend limited last weekend and I happened to be in his shop when Todd brought in a mess all fried up — delicious.

As I said, it was cold on the river the day we went out. We sometimes forget the chill in late winter and early spring. Just remember to dress appropriately if you venture out in the woods or on the waters during these cold spells.

We learn in this week’s news from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife that a thin base clothing layer of polypropylene, breathable micro-fiber or breathable fleece is best for staying warm. Silk is also a great base layer. These materials allow perspiration to escape and take away moisture from the skin. Do not use a cotton t-shirt and cotton sweat pants as a base layer. Late winter and early spring weather changes by the hour. It could be 30 degrees at 6:30 a.m., 48 degrees at 10 a.m., 52 degrees at 2 p.m. and back into the low 30s when the sun dips behind the hills in late afternoon. If you’ve exerted yourself during the day and sweated in your cotton t-shirt and sweat pants, they become blankets of frost at 5 p.m. Cotton doesn’t dry and loses all insulating properties when wet.

Layer some medium- to heavy-weight insulating fleece over the thin breathable base layer and add a windproof rain suit. You’ll stay warm and comfortable. If it is going to stay under 40 degrees for the entire day, you may need some insulated bibs and a jacket or coveralls.

Bibs and a jacket offer much more comfort and you can remove the jacket in the mid-day sun and stay comfortable with the bibs and under-layers.

Once the sun drops, slide the jacket on again.

Winter anglers often use fingerless wool or fleece gloves, but they aren’t too comfortable after a soaking in 38-degree weather. A trick winter trout and smallmouth anglers use is to spread an even coat of petroleum jelly on their hands and slide a pair of latex gloves over them. Your hands stay warm and the latex gloves shed water. Thin latex gloves allow complete freedom of finger movement, making tasks like tying knots or releasing fish much easier. Pack several pairs of the latex gloves. A puncture hole from a hook or a fish fin ruins the insulating effect of the entire glove.