Pool 2 Report (2021)

Thanks guys, that helps.

That’s too bad, Matt. You’d think it would be coming up more than it is, but then again with how dry it’s been I’m sure the ground is soaking up vast majority of water.

Matt Moen wrote:

Leeches were good earlier…I’d go with half a crawler or minnows now. Leeches stopped working (along with about everything else!) in June.

Got out on the lower end for about 4 hours yesterday. Still a grind of a bite out there. Water temp at 74…water still very clear and flow has not come up much.

Two <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleyes only but did find a couple areas holding some smallies. Nothing big but fun to pitch to. <em class=”ido-tag-em”>Catfish were also on the tear.

All fish pitching live bait….couple trolling runs didn’t produce. Worth a trip but I’d have low expectations out there. Looks like it’s not coming up as predicted, either.

I’m sure someone is catching them but it really hasn’t been me for about the last 2 months.

I thought I saw your boat down there. I was the white alumacraft by the swing bridge if it was you that I saw.

We fished cats and had a blast. We caught 20 in a couple hours.

Did not catch any bycatch walleyes and did not talk to anybody that got on em either.

Holy cow was there a lot of boats out tonight, big to small!

Cody Meyers wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Matt Moen wrote:</div>
Leeches were good earlier…I’d go with half a crawler or minnows now. Leeches stopped working (along with about everything else!) in June.

Got out on the lower end for about 4 hours yesterday. Still a grind of a bite out there. Water temp at 74…water still very clear and flow has not come up much.

Two <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleyes only but did find a couple areas holding some smallies. Nothing big but fun to pitch to. <em class=”ido-tag-em”>Catfish were also on the tear.

All fish pitching live bait….couple trolling runs didn’t produce. Worth a trip but I’d have low expectations out there. Looks like it’s not coming up as predicted, either.

I’m sure someone is catching them but it really hasn’t been me for about the last 2 months.

I thought I saw your boat down there. I was the white alumacraft by the swing bridge if it was you that I saw.

We fished cats and had a blast. We caught 20 in a couple hours.

Did not catch any bycatch walleyes and did not talk to anybody that got on em either.

We saw you over there….wondered if that’s what you were fishing for. Fun to get on a good cat bite.

I’ll make sure to swing by and say hi next time.

Cody, do you have any advice on how to find cats and catch them on P2? I’ve never fished for them and they are fun to catch. Amazing how hard they hit a crank bait.

Yes, right now is a good time to go try it for the first time. With the water as low as it is, I look for anyplace that has current. I like outside bends that have things like rock or a good log jam etc. Wing dams that have any amount of current right now can also be good.

Then you can either anchor and fish them how you normally see, where folks use a carolina rig and cut bait. Or we were using 3 way rigs with cut bait and moving around with the trolling motor. The water is warm enough right now where it should all work. I use cut sucker or sheephead for bait, I don’t like using crawlers or stink bait much.

Hope that helps,

The Channel cats have been going crazy! The amount of shad is ridiculous. They are gorging right now. Hosted a contest out there on 8/21 and seen several Chans over 10lbs with the biggest at 15.2

They were crushing crawlers for us on Saturday. Biggest were probably 5# but on light jigs and walleye rods they sure are fun.

Might be time to get the cat rod out and give it a try!

3rivers- you must be the “big BANG” guy… 😂

Normally I catch a lot of channels on the upper end with artificials but only one so far this year which is crazy to me.

Did however get a couple walleyes on one trolling run yesterday, which was nice. Crazy how specific it had to be presented, but every time you’d get hit! Had to be downstream 2.5 mph or so, banging shallow rocks.

LabDaddy1 wrote:

3rivers- you must be the “big BANG” guy… 😂

Normally I catch a lot of channels on the upper end with artificials but only one so far this year which is crazy to me.

Did however get a couple <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleyes on one trolling run yesterday, which was nice. Crazy how specific it had to be presented, but every time you’d get hit! Had to be downstream 2.5 mph or so, banging shallow rocks.

Yup, been getting into em in the shallows off cranks chasing massive schools of baitfish. 30″+ in walleye had right at the top of the water before spitting…

Not sure what to think about the water, pool 3 has gone down in the last day or so when I was hoping and expecting it going up.

Yeah, I think the the water probably just filtered through the xtra dry soil extremely fast. Would be nice to get a few more consecutive days of rain

Anybody been out lately?

Was out a week or so ago thurs night til about 10:30 pm and got a couple smallies, a walleye and a sauger in a couple hours trolling/casting cranks.

Turns out the next day at 1 pm they pulled a dead body out at watergate marina. Talk about creepy… That makes what? Like 5-6 drownings/bodies recovered from Ford dam to confluence this summer? Almost deters a guy from fishing down there… almost

Joking aside, condolences to all the families and loved ones.

I’m out right now and am fishing cats. There are shad absolutely everywhere and the cat bite is slower than the past week. Very few boats out. Water temp is 73 and water clarity is pretty close to average.

I have never seen bait like this year….and this early. Need the water to really cool to start killing them off.

I’m concerned the fall bite isn’t going to materialize given the current conditions.

Agree with you both. Holy shad!!!!! Tonight was like nothing I’ve seen. Popping everywhere on the surface and stacked up EVERYWHERE. The mosquitoes were just as thick… Makes me wonder if that’s not exactly what the bait was feeding on. Got one 15” walleye. Only saw one or two other fishing boats, but cruisers out like crazy. It is Friday night after all and air temps were nice.

I am having fun at least poking around with my new(to me) unit and dropping markers on GPS.

Pic is a bunch of shad. Not the heaviest concentration either…

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First post on IDO! I’ve been following the site and this thread in particular for a couple years, however. I’ve actually seen a lot of you out there while fishing from shore- you may have seen me near the Hwy. 5 bridge on the Fort Snelling side.

Excited to say that I’ve recently purchased my first used boat and plan to get out there this fall.

One question for the Pool 2 crew- trusted boat mechanic shops in/near the metro? My trailer is in need of a brake job. Also willing to look outside of the metro too if the level of service is worth it.

Thanks all! Looking forward to seeing some familiar boats/faces out there and making a less virtual introduction.

Ben Cesar wrote:

First post on IDO! I’ve been following the site and this thread in particular for a couple years, however. I’ve actually seen a lot of you out there while fishing from shore- you may have seen me near the Hwy. 5 bridge on the Fort Snelling side.

Excited to say that I’ve recently purchased my first used boat and plan to get out there this fall.

One question for the Pool 2 crew- trusted boat mechanic shops in/near the metro? My trailer is in need of a brake job. Also willing to look outside of the metro too if the level of service is worth it.

Thanks all! Looking forward to seeing some familiar boats/faces out there and making a less virtual introduction.

Congrats on the new boat Ben. I have had some brake work done at Roseville Auto & Marine. Very satisfied and reasonably priced.
Was on the water yesterday. Water temp. was 68. Caught some nicer fish and a beautifully colored sauger. See you on the water.

Ben Cesar wrote:

First post on IDO! I’ve been following the site and this thread in particular for a couple years, however. I’ve actually seen a lot of you out there while fishing from shore- you may have seen me near the Hwy. 5 bridge on the Fort Snelling side.

Excited to say that I’ve recently purchased my first used boat and plan to get out there this fall.

One question for the Pool 2 crew- trusted boat mechanic shops in/near the metro? My trailer is in need of a brake job. Also willing to look outside of the metro too if the level of service is worth it.

Thanks all! Looking forward to seeing some familiar boats/faces out there and making a less virtual introduction.

Congrats on the boat purchase Ben! It’s a great feeling to say the least. I have probably seen you down there also. That’s the stretch I shore fish as well.

Hey Ben, I’ve had good luck with Hannay’s Marine for my boat service etc. I’ve had some minor rigging performed by them as well and they do a good job.

Fishing is improving consistently with the dropping water temps. August had me questioning my abilities!

Here’s a cool screenshot from the other night on my SI unit- looks like a school of shad or maybe crappies with a big fish lurking nearby

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Thanks for the recommendations and the first boat sentiments. Good luck on the fall bite out there.

Got out last night for the first time in a month and a half (backyard wedding/honeymoon). It definitely showed. Just a single cat off a wingdam.

I’m assuming the walleyes could smell the dust on my tackle.

Thinking about focusing on downed timber throughout the rest of this week. Anyone have any suggestions for some snag free-ish rigs?

Mike Otis wrote:

Anyone have any suggestions for some snag free-ish rig

BFT Draggin’ Jigs.

https://customjigs.com/products/draggin-jig.html

-J.

Also – I’ve got an extra spot in my boat for Saturday’s hog haul if anyone is interested. Send me a PM if you are.

It’s a small boat, but damn good company.

Jon- I can’t quote you because the site won’t let me, as usual. Mind if I rack your brain a little?

I’ve seen them in stores and talked about in forums for years, but I’ve never pulled the trigger because I feel like I just can’t justify the price. I still buy mid-level packs of jigs with either a swimming head or ball head(but always gotta have good hooks; can’t stand those red northland hooks, might as well use bent paper clips…). Can you (or anyone else here) convince me that bfishn/VMC jigs are a must have? I’m all ears and open to suggestions. Thanks!

LabDaddy1 wrote:

Jon- I can’t quote you because the site won’t let me, as usual. Mind if I rack your brain a little?

I’ve seen them in stores and talked about in forums for years, but I’ve never pulled the trigger because I feel like I just can’t justify the price. I still buy mid-level packs of jigs with either a swimming head or ball head(but always gotta have good hooks; can’t stand those red northland hooks, might as well use bent paper clips…). Can you (or anyone else here) convince me that bfishn/VMC jigs are a must have? I’m all ears and open to suggestions. Thanks!

I’ve been using the VMC Mooneyes for the last few years. They just seem to get more bites for me. I don’t know if it has anything to do with the jig or not, but it seems like it. The hook could be a little stronger but rivers will eventually bend out most jig hooks.

BfishN for me most of the time. Been using them for years so I have confidence in what they can do.

I’m on board with the Draggin jigs to. If you want to pitch jigs into the wood this is the jig for it. You will still loosea few but that’s mostly when line gets caught up in bark or hook guards are out of whack. You will also loose feel on these jigs compared to a standard jig. Standard jig gives you a nice thunk or tick when hitting bottom. Draggin jigs tend to glide more over stuff. Compare cost of 2 to 4 Draggin jigs lost in a day pitching to wood to how many standard jigs you would loose. Not to even mention wasted re tying. Draggin jigs are fantastic for dragging to.

LabDaddy1 wrote:

Can you (or anyone else here) convince me that bfishn/VMC jigs are a must have?

I’m glad Mike chimed in. I have watched him pitch these jigs into some nasty cover. Work well with bait or plastics. Yes, I would say you should have a handful in your tackle box.

-J.

I think the VMC Mooneyes feel like the easiest non-weedless jig for being on rocky bottom and getting out of snags. I end up using the VMC Sleeks (1/4oz) most often though as they have a slightly longer hook for any short strikes and seem to roll off rocks similarly. The hook on the Sleek jigs is a little thicker wire too. Note that I’ve primarily been on shore on wingdams using these. If pitching into wood, I’ll lose both all day. Anyone Texas rig for Walleye here? I’ve never tried it, but there’s a few spots that would seem to call for it.

Fireball for least snaggiest behind the dragging imo. Hook is less protruding, and the large round head hovers nicely in the current and doesn’t snake in the snags like the pill shaped jigs.

But each presentation calls for different styles, don’t get to caught up any one being the golden ticket.

Nothing will lose more jigs than an inattentive fisherman. Become one with your lure and draw yourself a mental roadmap of your location you’re fishing. Easy to steer your bait where the fish are after the map has been drawn