Does anyone ever fish pool 3 south of Prescott and is it any good? I never see any posts on it and it is fairly close to me. 2ndly, where is the lillydale boat ramp for pool 2 located, do I get there from 35E north of 494?
Any help would be great.
Thanks
Todd
Todd: Here is an easy way to get to the ramp. Off of 35E take the highway 13 exit. Take a right onto 13 (east). Take the first right. This is maybe a 100′ from the freeway ramp. This road will bring you down under Hwy 13 and right to the river road. Take a right on this road (Lilydale Rd), go about a mile and you will find the Lilydale park and landing on your left.
For Pool 3 , a regular on the site , Boone , fishes the wing dams downstream from Prescott. I have joined him a couple of times and the trips did produce a variety of fish. You could send him a pm for more info.
Dino
Thanks for the info. Is the landing at lillydale ok? I have a lund explorer, can I get in and out alright?
todd
Todd,
The Lilydale ramp is actually a really nice ramp for bigger boats. The only drawback is that there is no dock here at the ramp and you need to pull your boat up on shore. You should be perfect for your Lund Explorer.
Good luck fishing and let us all know how you do.
Todd, Appearantly you haven’t watched the rcl the last couple years, It’s been won in the back waters below Prescott the last 2 years. I’ve fished with some success south of Prescott , Tuck is another one to PM for info.
The Lilydale landing is better than Hidden Falls in that you don’t have the current to fight when trailering up the boat.
you dont like the 10 mph running onto the trailer that Hidden Falls is famous for???
I fish pool 3 quite a lot. More every year.
But do you catch anything Mike??? 
DaveB,
I love that landing at Hidden Falls. If I can get my boat loaded there, I can load in just about any conditions. We used it two weeks ago, 30mph blowing downstream with the current, only took two tries. 
Sometimes. 
But certainly not everytime. Lots of wingies.
Low traffic and scenery is the draw for me.
Ok I found a map of pool 3. If I go on Friday afternoon and put in at the Jaques public access at Prescott, what is my best option to fish. Plastics on the wingdams, jig and minnow around where the rivers meet, downstream or anywhere else?? Thanks
Todd,
The access in Prescott is public, but not free. You can get an annual pass at the City Hall or make sure to pay the box. The local police will start ticketing soon.
And yes, the confluence area should be a good place to start. Also, the rip-rap just sout of the ramp can be good in the spring.
Todd,
As Dino mentioned, I fish Pool 3 south of Prescott quite a bit and at times, the walleye fishing can be pretty good. Also, as Chappy stated, the mega buck RCL championship was held on Pools 3 & 4 the past two years and in both years the winner fished the backwaters just upstream from Treasure Island Casino. Some of the other top place finishers also fished Pool 3. I mainly concentrate on the numerous wingdams when the current isn’t too strong but others do well trolling rip rap, fishing the backwaters (North Lake and the connecting sloughs), etc.
I did say that at times Pool 3 can be pretty good but early spring is not one of those times, at least for me. I really have struggled to catch walleyes/saugers on Pool 3 in February through mid April. I don’t know why. Perhaps it’s just me and the techniques I’m using but the fact that you can go south of Prescott this time of year and not see another boat fishing makes me believe it’s not just me. I’m guessing the stretch of river from Prescott to the Hasting dam would be good but that’s MN inland waters and is closed until the regular opener. I had a decent day on that stretch on January 17th of this year. (Note: Pool 2 is open due to special catch-and-release year round fishing for walleye, sauger, and bass).
I talked to Chris Tuckner (a.k.a. Tuck), IDA Pro Staffer and Pool 3 guide, about my difficulties on Pool 3 at this time of year when I saw him at the Sports Show. I don’t recall his exact words but I think the take-home-message was to drive an extra 20 minutes and fish Pool 4.
About mid April the saugers will start to arrive under the Prescott bridges and along the docks in the No-Wake zone and then fishing can be pretty good again. I think it’s a little early yet but if you go, let us know how you did.
Has anybody had much luck fishing Pool 3 from February – Mid April? I’m not looking for locations or techniques, I’m just curious to know if others have had any success.
Boone
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