Anyone Else Dreamin of Mill Ruins?

I think you could fish the inside half no problem I just don’t think they are quite ready for us yet. A couple more nice warm days and I might jump the gun anyways.

Game on is right! I think I’m gonna go down Thursday and give it a shot.

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Sounds like she is close. I have fished up there in the past with the ice sheets still moving around in there and it is kind of a pain.

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It can be a pain, but there are fish to be had. And ice sheets are still more considerate thasn jet skiers.

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It can be a pain, but there are fish to be had. And ice sheets are still more considerate thasn jet skiers.

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You’ve had problems with jet skiers down there?

I just hope the fishing is better than last year and they have recovered from the draw down.

Ryan (Wiggum) where are you getting the graph from. I went to the Army Corps site that I used to go to and that sent me to River Gauges which does not have the Falls listed. Oh, nevermind. I see it is L&D #1. Aw crap, that still brought me to River Gauges that has nothing between St. Paul and Coon Rapids Dam!

Never mind, I found it.

http://www.rivergages.com

-> St. Paul District
-> Locks and Dams
-> Mississippi River Lock and Dam 1

I think I’ll try and hit it this weekend, icebergs or not.

Where did you get a hold of my blood pressure chart Pug?

We all know that channels bite in the lower temps..it’s just getting the bait to them.

Good luck!

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Where did you get a hold of my blood pressure chart Pug?

We all know that channels bite in the lower temps..it’s just getting the bait to them.

Good luck!

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I need to find a medium action surf-casting rod so I can plop it down by where most of them seem to come from. Actually, thanks for your words. If I go I will probably methodically work the entire area. The question is, how long do you let the bait sit. 15 minutes sounds about right.

Can you lock up here with your boat and camera and help me spot/sight fish?

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We all know that channels bite in the lower temps…

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Lower temps? The water is looking warm enough for me to dust off the Speedo

What is “shrivel” for $2000. Alex?

I may be making an appearance down there soon myself.

I drove over the 35W bridge last night when it was dark. I couldn’t really tell, but it looks mostly wide open with a sheet of ice still between where we all fish and the main channel.

I went down there today at 5pm and there were giant ice sheets covering the whole area. It would be very difficult to fish and the areas you would want to put bait are on the other side of the ice. Bums me out, I was hoping to dip a line.

I am driving by there in the morning and if it is open, I’ll hit it. Otherwise I am finding some open water around where the daughter can take pictures and I can fish. She loves taking pictures down at Mill.

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I am driving by there in the morning and if it is open, I’ll hit it.

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I’m picking my boat up in the morning If all goes well, I will be on the river on Sunday

What launch should I meet you at?

I got to Mill Ruins around 12:45 and found a familiar guy unloading his gear in the lot to go fishing. It was Manny. He actually was going to be targeting carp for the day and to be honest, I was open to whatever I could get to bite.

I started by casting a crawler out deep. Manny tied into a nice carp or two and then an accidental crappie was caught. The small school stuck around just long enough for a couple to be fooled by me. Then a couple of little smallies were caught about the time (ChannelCat)Ben showed up and I decided it was time to start targeting channels again. My crawler only elicited pecks, so I switched over to 3 fatheads on a hook.

Ben was the first to deliver a channel to the shore. I was next with what *ahem* turned out to be the big fish of the day. That was a little too much to take for Manny, so he decided it was time to see if he could get a channel too. And he was also able to hoist on over the rail. The day ended when Ben brought in his second of the day and I missed another good bite.

I’d stick to fatheads and be patient. If you are getting pecks, just wait it out. A couple of the fish started off as nips, but eventually we got a fish on.

I suppose a few pictures should be explained. I thought I should get a picture that captured the moment for me reeling in my first open water channel of the year. The close up of the eyeball, perhaps my new avatar, was one of my cat’s eyeballs. Kind of looks like a ‘cats eye’, feline, not fish, without the pupil. Looks to me that it is a birth defect or possible an injury at a very young age. Either way, it is pretty cool looking.

Some how I figured you would be the first one out of the gate Mike…
Nice fish you guys…
The Ball is rolling!

It was fun, for sure. Good to see you guys again. I figured I’d run into someone down there.

It was nerve-wracking to watch the rod tip for that long. I’d get bit, then it’d stop. Then a couple minutes later, tap, tap, gone. And again and again. Eventually, though, I picked up the rod and found the fish there.

The second one, though, didn’t hesitate at all. It was slow for quite a while, then a quick flurry of activity, as is often the case.

It should only get better as the water warms.

With the warm day, I think I might have to stop by today after dropping off my daughter.

Technically, Benefits was the first out of the gate

No one is here. A lot more icebergs to contend with today as the ice melts up by the lock gate.

Update: nobites today and I have about 10 minutes left. The icebergs amazingly are all gone now and the ice must be clear up by the lock.

Glad to hear you guys got into some fish! I got blanked, but the boat ran like a top and it was nice to be on the water…finally.

Lots and lots of icebergs to contend with on P2, as well.

That’s nothing compared to todays flow and debris field on P2. We lasted 20 minutes before getting off the water this morning. Along with Ice and large tree’s I swear I saw a cow flow past us today!
Amazing how fast things can change on our rivers from one day to the next.

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That’s nothing compared to todays flow and debris field on P2.

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Yeah, I thought the flow was pretty minimal yesterday, but the bergs weren’t too nice. It’ll be coming up fast! I was planning on a little excursion this week if the weather is nice–guess I’ll have to take the wait-n-see approach.

P2 was unnavigable this afternoon due to ice chunks from shoreline to shoreline down stream of the Hidden Falls launch. Not sure how long this will last but there are some boaters that will not be navigating back up stream to Hidden Falls until this clears..

And this is what it looks like above the ford dam!

Cool picks and great heads up(s).

Ben, Manny and I mulled over starting up the April Fools gathering. I was thinking April Dogs and Cats Gathering where we could bring our dogs too. I can haul up one gas grill. I wonder what the interest would be.

It was less than an hour ago when I made a commitment for April 3! (ahhgg) April 4th is Easter…it would have to be ham and cats…

Sure would have love to made it. I haven’t see “the guys” in a long time.

PS your new avatar looks much more like you Pug.

I would definitely be interested and have a couple fishin buddies who would love to come.

I thought I replied already, but I guess not. I’d be interested, as would Floyd and my wife, if weather permits.

I’d be interested, but I’ll be out of town over Easter. Maybe I could send my dog down as a proxy.