Pool 2 Report (2024)

Looked at the 494 access today. The water is at the top of the ramp but still no problem to launch. City hasn’t shut it down.

SR

Steve Root wrote:

Looked at the 494 access today. The water is at the top of the ramp but still no problem to launch. City hasn’t shut it down.

SR

I launched there yesterday, with another foot higher, you might have an issue with the no drop off and floating your boat without getting your vehicle into the river. Tons of trees (not just logs/branches) and mess out there, I would give it a few days before trying again.

FYI South Saint Paul closed the 494 ramp today.

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I went out last night and played around near the bottom of Pool2 pitching jigs and casting cranks at wing dams. Made me think, how many people soak willowcats up here on Pool 2 and 3?

DD wrote:

I went out last night and played around near the bottom of Pool2 pitching jigs and casting cranks at wing dams. Made me think, how many people soak willowcats up here on Pool 2 and 3?

I know plenty of people who use them on 3. I have never heard of anyone using them on 2 but there is no reason they wouldn’t work. I think they are more popular on the border waters because they are more accessible at bait shops.

Anybody ever fish from shore up by where Minnehaha comes into the Mississippi?

It’s been a while, early in the year when the water is up there can be a good walleye bite. Can get pretty crowded though. You can also walk up towards the dam, very rocky and a lot of snags though. I’ve caught about type of fish that swims in the river there though growing up.

We have used Willow cats on Pool 2. They work but so does every other walleye bait.

Mike W wrote:

They work but so does every other <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleye bait.

And/or catfish baits for that matter.

Willows are a bit small IMO on P2. I can think of many better things to buy than willow cats for bait down there.

buschman wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Mike W wrote:</div>
They work but so does every other <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleye bait.

And/or catfish baits for that matter.

Willows are a bit small IMO on P2. I can think of many better things to buy than willow cats for bait down there.

Hot dogs?

Anyone know if the 494 ramp is open?

Dave, those wiener’s are only good for turtles.. Even walleyes know what they are made of

Pool2Noob wrote:

Anyone know if the 494 ramp is open?

YES

494 access wasn’t open yesterday. There was one big tree pushing the dock across the right hand ramp, and another big tree across the left side. The barricades were still up.

Steve Root wrote:

494 access wasn’t open yesterday. There was one big tree pushing the dock across the right hand ramp, and another big tree across the left side. The barricades were still up.

Huh, it was open. I launched at lions levee last night. Water is down a bit and river is in great shape. Fish were eating too!

Back up to 10 by next week….

3Rivers wrote:

Back up to 10 by next week….

Got out last night from 4-8pm. Didn’t find any fish on my normal wing dams, current still seems to be too fast around them maybe?

Got on some fish in 10 FOW on a current seam next to slack water. Most fish were caught on either a slip bobber or a light jig and a minnow. Caught a few fish on crank baits while watching the bobbers.

When the water is up like this do you guys generally target the same spots you do when the water is at its summer/fall levels? Or do you push up closer to shore targeting a specific depth?

I target slack water and seems. Not at all the same spots as normal water levels…

I’m really liking the new page layout for the river gauges!

https://water.noaa.gov/gauges/stpm5

-J.

Pool2Noob wrote:

Got out last night from 4-8pm. Didn’t find any fish on my normal wing dams, current still seems to be too fast around them maybe?

Got on some fish in 10 FOW on a current seam next to slack water. Most fish were caught on either a slip bobber or a light jig and a minnow. Caught a few fish on crank baits while watching the bobbers.

When the water is up like this do you guys generally target the same spots you do when the water is at its summer/fall levels? Or do you push up closer to shore targeting a specific depth?

Watch some videos on wing dam’s and how flow works on them.. I wouldn’t fish a wing dam for week right now unless it was on a back channel receiving less flow. You cannot fish “Spots” on P2 and expect the same results for weeks in a row. These fish in high water will use their advantages to eat and that changes by the day right now. Think about the amount of prey present, flow, and available structure to ambush prey from. This changes all the time. So spots will change all the time as well.

Stop thinking spots and look at the water. There is a preferred speed of flow they look for. Locate that. Then find something unique in this flow area or advantages to the water feeding that area.

Walleyes just want food right now and prefer to be lazy and not put much effort into it if the right conditions are available. They can feed in fast water but there has to be food present. You will not find walleye food on a wing dam in the main channel right now.

Learn where the YOY bait, shad and shiners are at and how they use slack water environments vs fast. They use both. You figure that out and the walleyes will already be a step ahead of ya.

Also, leave the bobbers at home unless your fishing large baits (6-12 inches). You want to fish these areas fast and at different angles right now. The fish are either there or not. You will know quick. Once located you can take time to pick them apart.

Joe nailed it…he knows the river as well as anyone.

I would reiterate that now is the time to move fast and cover water. Find water that looks good, fish it fast and move on if you don’t locate fish. High water will really concentrate the fish.

This is prime crankbait time for me right now. I don’t really use anything else this time of year. I have a few different colors/profiles tied up at all times.

I’d also note that most of the baitfish are smaller right now. Match your presentation to that. I found a few spots last year full of small shiners…about an inch in size. I knew the walleyes were there but I was having a tough time getting bit with #7 shad raps. I downsized to #4 and it was game on.

Good luck out there.

Matt is 100% correct here as well. I do always have some hair jigs and plastics on “heavier than normal” jigs on a rod. This allows me to fish that little spot on the spot that crank baits cannot get to fast enough.

Was out on Tuesday and there were a couple spots this paid off. We combed them with crank baits and caught a few eyes but between two spots I pulled an additional dozen out with those jigs that we would have left behind if we just stuck to cranking.

494 Access Update.

Good news and bad news. The good news is that the dock has been pulled out and the big trees are gone. The water is right at the top of the ramp which is not a problem. The bad news is that the city still has barricades across the road.

Somebody dragged one of the barricades out of the way so you could sneak by, but the South St. Paul cops don’t think much of that.

I’ll try calling the city tomorrow and see if I can convince them to open things up.

SR

Decent bite for me today. Caught a little bit of everything throwing a little bit of everything at them. Plastics, hair, cranks. Just worked shoreline current seams and a few wingdams. 27″ was the biggest.

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FYI, Lillydale ramp is closing tomorrow AM. City is closing the road to the access.

-J.

That means the bite should really get going.

Jon Jordan wrote:

FYI, Lillydale ramp is closing tomorrow AM. City is closing the road to the access.

-J.

Hidden falls as well.

did they open up the 494 launch?