Pool 2 Report (2024)

Someone might as well get this started, just wish I had a fish photo to start it with. Nobody else out of 494 tonight. Can’t remember the last time the lot wasn’t full. Water levels are dropping and clarity is getting much better. Unless you are dragging bottom most of the moss from the last few weeks is gone. The bite is still struggling. Only caught a couple tonight and missed a few others. My guess is a shad die off is causing the slow bite. With any luck that will be long gone by the time the river opens up again. Good luck to anyone getting out in thenext few days. Think I’m taking a mid winter break.

Im going to have to come up and try P2 one of these days. Seems to almost have better quality fish than 4 ! Just driving up to the cities with more traffic to go fishing feels wrong to me !

Size structure is better because it is strictly catch and release for game fish. Depending on where you come from you can launch on the relative outskirts of town and traffic doesn’t suck.

At least for now the door has been slammed shut. There’s one small patch of open water visible below the bridge, I could see water vapor forming above it. It sure was fun while it lasted.

Steve

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Any updates on the 494 launch with this warmer weather?

Somebody went out the 494 ramp yesterday. Still looked pretty sketchy as there were a lot of huge ice packs floating around to contend with in front of launch. I saw them cutting out the landing but I would be worried coming back in if still open or blocked with ice flow. I am going by today and hopefully the ice flow moved on down the river and will post later.

The ramp is open at 494 bridge and ice was gone. 4-5 boats in parking lot.

Still alot of ice locked up in mpls. Been stuck in a couple ice flows, not even that bad, and wasn’t a fan of that whatsoever.

Stay safe folks.

Do not get caught above the swing bridge this time of year with all that ice.

The walleye bite got a little better for us over the weekend. Caught a couple dozen of them on Sunday casting blade baits. Basically used side imaging to locate fish and then spent some time working them.

We also watched a float plane crash while landing on the river. Pilot somehow got himself out of the cockpit while it was upside down in the water. Wet and a good bump on his forehead. The local fire departments where amazingly fast getting to us considering all they had to do. I don’t think it was even 30 minutes from when we called 911. Very scary scene and one I hope to not see again.

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Should add this rescue was not the only one over the weekend. Sounds like a boater was ejected into the water Friday night after hitting a chunk of ice. From what I found online he did not have his kill tether attached and his boat was circling. Another boater was able to get to him.

Life jackets, kill tethers and keep those eyes focused forward while traveling. Glad to hear this person was alright to.

Mike W wrote:

Should add this rescue was not the only one over the weekend. Sounds like a boater was ejected into the water Friday night after hitting a chunk of ice. From what I found online he did not have his kill tether attached and his boat was circling. Another boater was able to get to him.

Life jackets, kill tethers and keep those eyes focused forward while traveling. Glad to hear this person was alright to.

Wow between that and the plane, that’s just to much in one weekend on the river

Wheels down for water landing will do that to you. That plane should have multiple warnings to prevent that. Incredibly lucky to get out alive.

I agree Ron. It’s like pool 2 wants something. Either that or all this nice weather has a ton of people active on the river.

I have fished pool 4 a lot, but never traveled to Pool 2. I want to come up and chase a trophy, I’d be leaving from the Rochester area.

I have a few general questions below.

Does this Pool generally have the main community up to the lock? Is there more or less wing dams, gravel/sand flats? Does anyone fish both Pools and see any major similarities or differences?

Are there any launches to avoid or go to due to ease of launch? I suppose once I find the launch I’ll use I’d plan a scouting trip to spend 15 min at a bunch of different spots based off that route.

Thanks for the conversations!

There has been a decent amount of debris floating down the river the past week or so. I’d pick a stretch of P2 you want to fish and pick the launch closest. The 494 ramp in South Saint Paul is a common starting point with good fishing both north and south of there. This year has been very strange with the weather and its reflecting with the bite right now. Like everyone else, scanning a lot and trying to pick off the active fish seems to be best.

PLENTY of wings dams to choose from but it does seem these fish are relating to current seams/slack water right now if you can find them. Not sure when the run up stream will start but when it does, the lock areas have higher probability. Never hurts to check it out if you want to run up that way.

Wow, Mike ! I guess you can add that to the “Just when you thought you have seen it all” category.

-J.

DD wrote:

Does this Pool generally have the main community up to the lock?

Not this time of year. The migration towards the dam area is late Feb / early March. You can get some resident fish up there. But I would expect a generally slow daytime bite right now.

DD wrote:

Are there any launches to avoid or go to due to ease of launch?

Agree that 494 (Off Harman) would be a good ramp to start with. No dock in at 494. Plan accordingly.

DD wrote:

Does anyone fish both Pools and see any major similarities or differences?

More pitching and dragging on P2. Not much for bumper boat fishing. General etiquette would be if there is a boat on a wing dam, keep looking. Not cool to try and fish 2 boats on a single dam. Keep a respectable distance on a troll or drag and you’re good to go. What I would call Community spots out of 494 are the airport and warm water discharge, both upstream of 494. Areas can hold fish, but if there are a few boats working the area, I generally move on.

Good Luck.

-J.

Quick update on the plane.

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That was really something to see. And the fish were biting today. Thanks for getting me out Mike.

Well I went out the evening of 02/06 for the first time on P2. I had water temps were 34.5 – 36.5. I launched at the 494 ramp. I just beached my boat on the sand on the down river side of the ramp and it worked nicely. No ice chunks floating down river either.

I fished north 494, at the inlet of Pigs Eye, and north of the liftbridge on the wing dams and flats that are on the east side of the river somewhat near the base of the airport.

I drove around a lot and used SI to try and eliminate dead water. I went all the way up towards the top of the airport, on both sides of the channel. I didn’t really find any pods of fish that looked like the X for the day. I found fish, but they were mainly in the sand/rocks transition along the deeper sides of the main channel. I mainly covered 12-22’ of water. I only got 1 sauger to commit on a glide bait. Tried Jig&plastics, Berkeley finishers, blade baits… maybe I should have tried shallower, but it just didn’t feel right to for this time of year.

There was so much junk fish in the slack water areas, suspended in the water column, and the manatee’s (carp) near the bottom.

I’ll try again soon, probably head south next time and pitch at wingdams. Seems like there’s always a few resident fish on them.

494 ramp looked pretty full yesterday around noon.

So who’s headed out on 2 this weekend? Sure wish I was on the way down there this morning but need to cook up a batch of Maple syrup today. Pretty solid bite going earlier this week for Steve and I. Find those fish and fish them. Better yet is finding the fish that haven’t seen a ton of lures. Some of the community spots out there have been really beat up this winter.

Well the good bite sure disappeared today. Was no problem locating fish but getting them to bit was tough. We caught 2. Slow bite allowed us some time to look for new spots so that was a bonus.

Anyone care to share some tips on where/how I might get on some fish at night from shore? It’d be greatly appreciated.

Use Google Maps and look for wingdams that you can access from the shore. Would do this a decent bit in the spring before I can get my boat out on the water. Also, make sure there are spots you can legally access without trespassing. But if you are going at night maybe you can get away with a little more…

Well it’s starting to look like a p2 kind of weekend. The kid is chomping st the bit to be in the boat, so I’m thinking I’ll be seeing a few of you on Saturday. Wave if you see the old burgundy and tan monark.

Got out to pool 2 this afternoon for a bit, what a gorgeous day! The water temp was in some spots tickling 36 degrees on my little Garmin. Not a lot of fish but some nice ones. 24, 22 couple of 18 a 16 and some smaller ones. The 22″ was very fat. Caught all on blade baits. Tried hair jigs but not for to long as I have no confidence in them. Didn’t have any minnows along this trip.

Caught three this afternoon. Fat 25 was the biggest. Caught one on blade, plastic and crankbait. All three where on different types of structure to. So in short throw everything at them and fish everywhere.

Mike W wrote:

aught one on blade, plastic and crankbait.

I’m curious as to how you tie this rig up