Pool 2 Report (2023)

Is fishing near 494 worth it right now?

LabDaddy1 wrote:

Watergate not letting boats launch now.

Is the marina still frozen? Usually they open as soon as the ice breaker comes in.

Fort snelling is open, bunch of trailers in the lot. One side of the ramp is totally clear, the other has some snow. Water is high and there are a bunch of trees down immediately downstream of the ramp which will make launching solo and beaching the boat kind of tricky. But it’s doable. No dock yet. Parking area hasn’t been plowed and is kind of a mess.

Thanks DW.

The lady at watergate told me(over the phone) that they’re prepping for flood stage so won’t allow outside boats to launch from now until it comes down again(sometime in may, I’d guess). I assume it’s the rising water to blame for all those places being closed down, except for maybe HF, as someone alluded to there being a lot of branches down on the entrance road. Even in that case though, I would’ve thought they’d get it cleaned up fairly quickly… Then again they are government workers and we know how that goes (sorry gimruis) Admittedly I did not walk down to look at the road though. Still, seems like they have a really itchy trigger finger closing these places up this soon. Probably could’ve left some of these accesses/roads open at least a couple more days, but then again I suppose they just wanna cover their butts. Whatever.

I launched at ft Snelling with a one day pass. First time ever using that access. It was exactly as you said, and I even managed to get myself stuck in the “parking lot.” Had to drop the trailer and dig myself out with sticks. So nice start.

That current was rippin on the Minnesota and man was she dirty. Not too many big ice chunks or logs though, fortunately.

Fished from confluence to a couple bends up on the miss. Marked some fish, but not where they were a few days ago. Many sniffers, couple light/short bites and none in the boat in the 2 hours I fished. Seemed pretty negative.

Hopefully at least one of the other half dozen boats did better than I did.

Anybody been out these last couple nasty days? Also anybody been by hidden falls since Monday night to see if it’s open?

Hf gates were open yesterday, didn’t drive down to check the ramp

Good deal. Hopefully they leave it open as long as possible. Locked gates are one thing, but barricades are easy enough to move…

LabDaddy1 wrote:

… Then again they are government workers and we know how that goes (sorry gimruis)

LOL no offense taken I’m sure debris removal isn’t real high on the priority list for the IRS during tax season.

Haha, touché.

Hope you’ve all been well! It’s been a while since I’ve posted.

Quick question – at what point/water temp do you guys start using worms?

Also, I finally got a new-to-me boat, no more 14’er with a 9.9 for this guy. Stop by if you see a blue 16′ Starweld out on P2.

Mike Otis wrote:

what point/water temp do you guys start using worms?

Assuming you intend to target eyes, I have caught them w crawlers as soon as warmer late March, not my first choice this year.

But, crawler on a slow death behind a BB in the main channel seams can catch a slew of roughies, fun stuff, not hot and heavy but some action. Get some mooneyes for some good cutbait later in the year as well.

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Just a heads up…

There are signs on Hardman Avenue saying the road will be closed starting next Monday. That road is the road we use to get to the 494 access. I looked around and couldn’t find any information about what they are doing or how long the closure will last. I‘ll post here if I find anything else.

The river looked higher, flow is up. Not too much wood in the water as far as I could see from the truck. The Ramsey County Sheriff was down there with a boat, hopefully just practicing.

SR

Was on 2 out of hidden falls Sunday and Monday evenings. Water is up and really coming up fast now. I think I’m done there for a while. Really dirty water but like Steve said not much big wood, at least as of last night. That will be changing now though, most likely. Ended up with about 20 walleyes and a quillback. Walleyes seem to be really concentrated in spots on the spot. Can hit a bunch of spots with nothing and then one little 20 sq ft area would be loaded. Tough boat control between the confluence and dam unless you want to burn a lot of battery or have a good heavy anchor. Size wasn’t great but I’m not complaining too much- lots of 12-15” males, couple 17’s, few 20-21, and biggest was a fat 23.25”. Not sure where the big girls are or if I was too late for them or just didn’t offer what they wanted. Good luck to anyone still going out!

Jigs and plastics. Didn’t try minnows

OK, heard back from the city about Hardman Avenue. There will be some utility work that will result in some detours, but they tell me the will be no problem with access to the river. That’s all I got.

SR

Is the river fishable? Or is it raging to much? Any info would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks, Steve! I appreciate you taking to time to get to the bottom of it.

I just drove down to the 494 access to look at the river. The SSP Police have barricades up so the access is closed until further notice. Also saw that Colville Park in Red Wing is closed starting Friday. Here we go…

SR

Lilydale was open today but all the barricades are in place to shut it down at some point. Saw one trailer in the lot. She was moving pretty good.

Lillydale road / Water street are closing today.

-J.

With the water rising this fast the fishing will be bad. I think the only options over the next month will be the private marinas. Willys will probably be the best bet. Until she crests I don’t think its worth it.

Current NWS prediction has St. Paul cresting mid-day Friday at 18.3’, up another 6.8’ from today (Saturday) at 7:00 AM and 1.3’ above major flood stage. That’s an incredible amount of water.
https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?gage=stpm5&wfo=mpx

Took this morning

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dennis smith wrote:

Took this morning

Park benches are perfect walleye structure. That bite should be good for a few more weeks.

Matt Moen wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>dennis smith wrote:</div>
Took this morning

Park benches are perfect walleye structure. That bite should be good for a few more weeks.

I could pitch plastics to that cover TODAY!!!!!

With the river just under 90,000 cfs and 17 ft, I bet there are just MASSIVE piles of walleyes stacked in a few select slack water spots.

Over the last week the water temp(st Paul gauge) has topped out at about 48° after a fast, steady climb, and then quickly dropped back down to about 43° where it is now.

I wonder if there are still a few pregnant females doing their thing or if they’re all done? I would think they’d be about done by now but wouldn’t be surprised if there are stragglers…

Anywhere to dump in yet?

Willies Hidden Harbor.

-J.

Pool 2 at crest downtown St Paul.

River gage at 18.24.

-J.

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