P2

Couple of nice fish 4/14. Both inhaled the 2.5″ great white pulse r paddle tails. Beautiful night out there.

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Nice ones Smackem!

LOL – Can you please remove the black out on the 2nd picture and reveal your fishing spot so i can go there? appreciated.

hahah – i havent seen that trick used before but i like it

Nice fish! Heres a 28″+ full of spawn from 4/19.Trolling a firetiger smash shad got the job done that afternoon.Got a bunch of nice males,some crappies,whitebass,and of course a few sheepies.Went the next day in the crappy weather and caught a few fish but it was slower.Lately when I find the time to fish the cold,wind,drizzle,rain and snow flakes seem to combine and make things extra interesting.

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Nice fish Matte. I found some hungry eyes sunday morning pitching pulse r’s and smash shads. Biggest were a pair of 25″ers. Water is still clearer than normal and the temp was 51 when I started fishing, but was 54 when I left. I think the bite will continue to get better as the water warms this week. I couldn’t buy a fish trolling which seemed odd. No sheepters which was nice, but I’m sure that will change soon.

Just the opposite for our boat. No fish pitching. All came trolling shad raps. Agree, the bite feels like it will take off here soon.

Got a bonus musky. (Pure – not tiger) Little bugger only 5-6 inches long. Interesting to see. Released in very good condition. Wonder if this was a stocked fish? Possibly metro washed through Minnehaha creek to pool 2?

-J.

I asked the DNR guy when I caught a 40+ musky at the confluence and he guessed they come up from the Croix.

6″ though? That is really weird.

How’s it going guys…I’m from Duluth and have wanted to hit pool 2 for some time now…I always drive right by to pool 4…..What launch? do you guys prefer..is there any certain area of the river you would recommend hitting for eyes at this time in the spawn???….any help would be greatly appreciated…thanks

Thank You.Sunday I was out and trolled most of the time,caught fish nothing over 20″ and it was slower then it has been for me anyways.Tried jig fishing at sunset for a bit and caught a bunch of crappies,and a couple catfish and walleyes.Today well yesterday now,I trolled the whole time.All but one walleye I caught came trolling downriver,trolling upriver produced nothing but whitebass and a couple catfish.The white bass sure are hungry,I have never caught as many as I did today.The water is still gin clear as river water standards go.I havnt stayed out all that late the past few times out but the bite definately picked up once the sun started dropping.

riverrat21 wrote:

How’s it going guys…I’m from Duluth and have wanted to hit pool 2 for some time now…I always drive right by to pool 4…..What launch? do you guys prefer..is there any certain area of the river you would recommend hitting for eyes at this time in the spawn???….any help would be greatly appreciated…thanks

I live closest to 494 and St Paul Park Lions Levee so that is where i usually launch. 494 is probably the easiest to use right now. Lilydale and Hidden falls are good too if you are closer to those launches. There are fish from the Ford dam to the Hasting Dam in Pool 2 right now. Pick a section and start fishing. Trolling cranks is the easiest way to figure out where some fish might holding right now. As Matte noted trolling downstream works as well as upstream sometimes. Just keep your drag loose trolling downstream. Please keep in Mind Pool 2 is catch n release for walleyes and sauger, unlike Pool 3 or 4 where you can take fish home.

Yes make sure your drag is loose and your reel isnt on the low side of line incase you get a snag or a big fish.When a little 16-17″inch walleye hits it feels like you have a giant going downstream.Out of habit I tend to put the motor in neautral or shut the electric down so I dont end up crashing shore when fighting fish,however doing so can cost you fish as they can get slack line easier.I dont have a bowmount so I cant steer with my foot otherwise Id keep it running.Things happen two or three times faster when trolling downstream,keep that in mind.I launch at Lilydale because its easiest to launch and load by myself,Hiddenfalls is a little closer but the current combined with a breeze can make it tough for me to load myself.The fish seem to be allover the place this year,the past few trips out I cant say area has been better then others

Thanks guys..I truly appreciate the info….that should be enough to get me started down there…I’m pretty experienced when it comes to river fishing,but I definitely learn something new every time I’m out…as you guys said,I’ll more than likely be trolling cranks til I can learn the area…my navioncs and lowrance insight should hopefully keep me outta trouble….ANYBODY been fishing after dark lately?????was wondering if there if they hit all night… thanks guys

Lots of fish caught last night. Fished a little bit after dark and ran out of bait. Another beauty of a night on the river.

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matt wrote:

I launch at Lilydale because its easiest to launch and load by myself,Hiddenfalls is a little closer but the current combined with a breeze can make it tough for me to load myself.

I have never launched in P2, but drove by Lilydale a couple weeks ago to see if it was a launch I could do by myself. I didn’t drive down it & look at it too close, but from what I remember it looked tough to do by yourself? No dock and just a cement ramp. Do you pull your boat up on shore on the side of the ramp then?

mnrabbit wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>matte wrote:</div>
I launch at Lilydale because its easiest to launch and load by myself,Hiddenfalls is a little closer but the current combined with a breeze can make it tough for me to load myself.

I have never launched in P2, but drove by Lilydale a couple weeks ago to see if it was a launch I could do by myself. I didn’t drive down it & look at it too close, but from what I remember it looked tough to do by yourself? No dock and just a cement ramp. Do you pull your boat up on shore on the side of the ramp then?

Yes, it is sandy for a few feet above and below the ramp at Lilydale. If you have a glass boat, head to Watergate, 494 or Lions Levee. Hidden Falls is rubble and sometimes has big rocks thrown into the water by a-holes.

If you have two adults, we would creep up to the landing slowly with the boat and pick up the person parking the car and rarely touch the bottom. The river drops off pretty fast.

For those out on P2… are folks getting fish upstream or downstream of St. Paul? Hoping to get out tomorrow morning for the first time in a while and looking to focus my search. Thanks!