Pool 2 Report

I tried posting a few pictures as we cut it open but either the site or my phone doesn’t want them to be posted today. I did take some video breaking ice on are way out after getting the boat in and turned around.

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I drove through the access around 2pm and saw your guys’ handy work! I was really close to dragging my boat up there today, I wish I would have checked this thread last night! Looks like you guys did pretty well, congrats.

Incredible guys. If anyone is wondering why/how these dudes have the success they do, look no further.

We were on our way to Red Wing because we had heard the 494 ramp was froze up. We stopped down just to check and see what it looked like on our way. We got there just as these guys were finishing up and launching their boats. Tremendous amount of work they put in to open this up and I just want to say Thank you and also for giving us a hand landing our boat. Crazy the pictures they posted of before and after.
Nice to get the boat out. This was our biggest for the day

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Any one drove by the 494 ramp lately how’s it looking?

Hidden Falls is good to go! Just a little ice left at the bottom of the ramp and pretty minimal drop from the edge down into the water. the Wake boarders were out this afternoon.

I brought my new/old 14 foot alumacraft down for a maiden voyage float test and just tooled around for an hour or so getting used to the trolling motor and oars. Hoping to get the “real” boat wet this weekend.

went by and looked the other day and looked like would not be to much trouble to get a boat out

I’m planning on getting out this Saturday, anyone else going to be putting around? I know it’s one of the last, best-kept secrets in the Metro as far as walleyes go, and I certainly don’t blame anyone for being tight-lipped, but any tips on where to find em? I don’t want actual spots, but knowing whether I should start out close to shore working shallower cover or stay out working the deeper breaks on the main channel would be awesome! Either way, if you guys see a black and gray Lund Fisherman with a 115 Yammie on the back wandering around like a lost sheep, say hi!

Where are you launching TMF?

Pool 2 looks ice free shore to shore from my downtown St Paul window. I assume Lilydale and other ramps have some shelf ice.

Well the tentative plan was to head out of the 494 access, since it was barely iced up last weekend I assume it’ll be good to go this weekend. I’m going to head up there tonight or tomorrow to double check it, but if it’s iced up then probably Hidden Falls. I’m definitely open to suggestions though, I’ve only fished Pool 2 once in the last few years, so I’ve got a lot of learning to do.

I am not the 494 guru, but do some research on how/where to anchor up and fish wing dams. Otherwise, trolling cranks on shorelines or looking for fish on the edge of the channel where it drops into 18-22′ of water and vertical jigging should put some fish in the boat. The flow and water levels are still pretty low, once the water levels rise, fish will push harder to current breaks and back waters.

Thanks for the tips Dave! I should be able to handle the wing dams, and I’ve heard quite a bit about the Pool 2 crankbait bite, so we’ll have to give that a shot as well. Do you tend to run them at the top of the break to the main channel, as opposed to out deeper where you’re jigging on the edge of it? Thanks again.

TMF — let us know how you do!

I usually run cranks in 5-7′ of water on Pool 2

Dave, thanks for the heads up on depth, I’m glad I asked, because I wouldn’t have thought of going that shallow! I’ll absolutely let you guys know how we do tomorrow, like I said, if any of you see a gray/black Lund with a 115 Yammie on the back, say hey. Thanks again!

I’ll be out of Hidden Falls sometime tomorrow afternoon in my old brown tri-hull.

Finally going to get back to Minnesota after spending most of the last 2.5 years out in Michigan. Looking forward to getting in some Mississippi River walleye fishing in.

Just swung by 494, and she’s good to go! One ramp is practically ice free, and the river is wide open except for shore ice. Looked to be about nine trailers in the lot.

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Well guys it was a pretty slow day for us. We started fishing the shorelines, side-channel mouths, and snags upriver of 494. Didn’t get anything there, fished a bridge, channel mouths, and the shoreline riprap right in front of St. Paul with nothing to show for it, and finally cried uncle and went to the confluence and boated half a dozen, including a very fat 23″ and 25″ caught by my buddy. Weather was good except for the wind, and all the fish came on plain jigs and minnows. Fished anywhere from 10-25′.

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That’s not a bad day out there. I’ll bet it was better than most on pool 4 today!

Very nice.

pool2fool wrote:

I’ll be out of Hidden Falls sometime tomorrow afternoon in my old brown tri-hull.

P2F, it was nice to chat with you on the way down river yesterday. Hope you caught some fish?

Nice to meet you guys too. You were coming out at the right time, did you set up at the confluence or head down river? It was pretty packed down there.

I didn’t see much action up from the confluence to the dam. I wasn’t in the mood to get into the bumper boats game so I stayed pretty much up river. Pretty quiet for me. I’m a hack so not too surprising.

Anyone been up near Ford Dam? How’s the ice up there?

mahtofire14 wrote:

Anyone been up near Ford Dam? How’s the ice up there?

the lock and the first part adjacent to the rip rap is iced up still, as well as the mouth of the creek. Otherwise wide open except shore line stuff.

Quite a bit of ice and not a lot of fish… at least from shore!

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Jeff Fitzpatrick wrote:

Quite a bit of ice and not a lot of fish… at least from shore!

Think i saw you out there jeff. I was sitting across the river. Caught 1 nice sauger and a small walleye.

Nice! Glad you were getting bit out there, no sign of life on the other side of the river.

Good midday bite for me. Almost a dozen nice fish in only three hours on plastics. Several 20” sauger and the fattest 26-27” eye I have ever seen.

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