Pool 2 Report (2023)

The pilings at the high bridge look like they are throwing out a big wake. That water must be cooking right now!!!

494 access today. It’s gone down a little since last I saw!

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any ideas on when the ramps will reopen on pool2?

As far as the 494 access goes, I was told that after the water comes down the city will get in there and clean off the mud and junk, and only then will the ramp be open again. So it’s not strictly tied to water level.

SR

Hidden falls is closed and has a sign up saying to use lilydale— but I thought lilydale road was closed as well?

I thought Lions Levee would be open by now but that is still closed as well. I have been lauching out of Willies the last two weeks. Water was at 63 degrees yesterday and the river is in great shape!! Flow has really come down over this last week. Fishing has been pretty good too.

My kid said HF is back open but not a lot of ramp to work with. He’s 16 so take that with a grain of salt.

Here we go again…

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Yup. Sigh. I have pretty much given up on fishing pool 2 in the spring or early summer. By the time I get back from my bwca and/or Canada trips in mid/late June things typically seem to be leveling off and the crankbait bite starts to get hot. July has been my best month on the river for several years running now .

Anyone know if lions is open?

Lions is open. The dock is still under water for the first 6-8′ and then out so bring boots or plan on your feet getting wet. Good Luck!

Hidden Falls is open. Water about 1/3 up the ramp. Fish are hungry.

Anyone know if 494 is open yet?

I checked it out yesterday. Barricades still there. People moving them at will as there were 3 trailers there. About 4 inches of silt on ramp 6 ft up from water level. A little bit of the center divider was showing.

Looks like today the barricades are just moved off to the side. The south ramp seems to have been cleaned up a bit as well

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I drive over the 494 bridge multiple times a day while working and I’m always looking at those wing dams to the south. They sure show up nicely with a strong southerly wind… Can’t wait to get back out there but there’s still a lot of crap in the water, including some whole big cottonwoods.. New boat and all… ya know..

Anyone have any recent reports and is 494 open?
I see the river is low at 4.6’. It’s dropped 10.3’ in 14 days.

We stopped by the 494 access yesterday. The barricades were pushed off to the side, and there were five trailers in the lot. Talked to one guy and he was delighted to report the Walleyes were hitting well. You could see where the city was down there cleaning the mud off the ramps. The only thing on the ramps was a lot of smaller pieces of wood. Now, I don’t know if it’s officially open but I don’t see any reason why not.

SR

Thanks Steve!

Just posting yearly reminder here that we will be having our annual catfish contest on P2 this Sat the 10th. This year we will be at Lion’s Levee from 4-midnight. Expect increased boat activity in that area. Just wanted to give a heads up and sorry for any inconvenience it may cause.

3Rivers wrote:

Just posting yearly reminder here that we will be having our annual catfish contest on P2 this Sat the 10th. This year we will be at Lion’s Levee from 4-midnight. Expect increased boat activity in that area. Just wanted to give a heads up and sorry for any inconvenience it may cause.

I missed the signup for this one this year… SOB!!! I might head down and beat up on the walleyes that night. Check in on you all and maybe see you guys at the launch. Good luck!!

buschman wrote:

I missed the signup for this one this year… SOB!!! I might head down and beat up on the <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleyes that night. Check in on you all and maybe see you guys at the launch. Good luck!!

Still time and plenty of space to sign up if you get the itch (we’re permitted to 50 boats).
https://calendly.com/3riversfishingadventures/whisker-run-2023-1

Crazy, I just assumed they would be full.. The channels were on a tear this weekend. Caught quite a few on crankbaits when I was chasing walleyes!! 7-8 of them. Just crushing.. I am guessing this will be a good year for some out there. I might have to get in and fish this again. Thanks for the heads up.

Notice from the City of SSP: The Community Garden and DNR Boat Launch will be closed on Wednesday, June 14th from 7am – 5pm due to railroad maintenance.

Good call, these PSA’s are always appreciated!

Can’t escape the construction anywhere right now

thanks for the heads up Sharon.

Anyone have any advice on where to find walleyes?
I’ve been getting some, but don’t have a bite dialed in like last summer even when the water was low last year.
I’ve tried sand, rocks and some wing dams. A fish here and there and only one over 20”. Any where else I’d be happy, but it’s P2!

I did pretty good 2 Sundays ago fishing wing dams. Several over 20″ using Flicker Shad 7s and the shallow diving flicker shad 7s right over the top of the dams. Lots of those fish were right on top in 2-3’fow.

Current seams close to deeper water. Also snake trolling from 15 fow up to 11 fow.

Mark Z, how do you snake troll in 11-15’ and keep your lure on the bottom?

I did OK this AM, casting and trolling cranks and dragging a jig and 1/2 crawler. Biggest was 22”.