Pool 2 ramp conditions?

Hey fellas….
I was hoping to get some ramp condition on P2 from anyone that been out? I have not been down for sometime now and got the itch real bad….

Hidden Falls, Lilydale, 494?

Thanks

Hidden falls and 494 are good to go.
There were a few boats at the confluence yesterday.

I don’t think Lilydale will be a go for some time yet.

dd

Funny, I was wondering the status of the ramps on Pool 2 and I thought you would be the one who would know! I’ve never been there but thinking of pulling tarps off the boat early just go.

i took the dog for a walk up to the dam yesterday and the ramp was icy but launchable. saw 4 boats at the confluence.

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I have not been down for sometime now and got the itch real bad….

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ditto Steve

Ramps (except Lilydale) are open. The fishs’ mouths, not so much! Still, it’s great to be out there and I’ll find ’em eventually!

Jake H is right. I fished out of the Hidden Falls ramp yesterday. The ramp is a bit icey, but it’s good enough to launch even bigger rigs right now. 494 is clear and open too. Not much for ice flows either. Water clarity was about 3.5 feet with a slow current. 5 other boats at the confluence besides us. It was a nice – quiet day down there.
Oh yeah…. We did get bit too!
Splitshot

What a time to start working full time

Good luck and be careful out there guy’s! Hope to be down soon myself

THanks everyone for the fast response. Looking forward to getting out a few times this week!

Even if I strike out down there….its gonna feel good blowing the dust off. See you guys on the water.

I drove down to look at the 494 access on Sunday, and they had the road blocked off. An inaccessible access? I’ll try and swing by there today to see what it looks like. I got the itch too, it would be nice to be out in a boat again!

See you guys on the water.

Rootski

Didn’t I read somewhere that the road will be closed on weekends for a while?

Can someone elaborate some differences to a newbie (me)?

Hidden Falls looks to be near Ford Parkway. Where is the 494 launch mentioned above? Are they 2 distinctly different areas to fish? Early season best bets for fishing could be either access? Is there a powerplant/warm water discharge near either of these or is that somewhere completely different? I’m thinking of getting the boat out of storage early for this.

I see on a map that 494 & 5 off of post road might have a launch on it. .is that it?

Thanks.

Theo,

The 494 ramp is down by S St.Paul beneath the Wacota bridge. It is the same ‘pool’, just more southward on the river. If you plan to fish up by the missi/mn confluence, it is a bit of a ride up stream from this landing, not a big deal, but Hidden Falls is much closer. All, from another site a guy is quoted as talking to the construction guys there and them saying closed during the week but open all the time after 3/5 for what it is worth.

In the past it seems like most of the action is happening up by the confluence. I’ve done very poorly (OK, worse than usual) down around the 494 access in the early spring. It’s probably worth using the Hidden Falls or Lilydale accesses and fish the confluence on up to the dam.

I can’t wait for them to get the Wakota bridge done! 1) It will be nice to have the access open consistently, and 2) People heading East-bound will actually be able to get across the river.

Rootski

Rootski: By the time they get the last 1/2 done, they will have to go back at the first half due to salt deterioration, more than normal wear & tear (because everyone has had to drive on the first half for so many years already) and general neglect (due to insufficient DOT funds)…. AND, you can plan on even more fun when they tear into the Lafayet Bridge in 2011! The same company will probably get that 10 year job too!!

On another note, arn’t they (MPCA/Met Council) going to run some kind of new main sewer extension line through the river at the 494 area this summer, or was that done already? That may be another hold up to access there too.

Re-Investing in America

Splitshot, you’re probably right. It’s the Project That Will Never End. Reminds me of the bridge in Cloquet. That thing was “under construction” for decades.

I drove down there this afternoon. The road is open. It’s a sloppy, muddy mess but it’s open. The ramp is useable too. The side upstream from the cement divider is pretty much ice free. The other side is still covered with a thick layer of ice however. The channel looked open as far as I could see but there were giant sheets of ice sliding by. One still had chunks of the Titanic stuck in it, so be careful! There were several trailers parked in the lot so somebody was out there.

It was nice to see open water!

Rootski

Thanks for the updates everyone. I was able to get in at HF ramp the other day with no problems.

Anyone have a comment on the Lilydale ramp? Is it something where a guy and a chisel and a 12 pack could handle in a few hours or is there a giant ice shelf (over deeper water)that is preventing us from launching?

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Is it something where a guy and a chisel and a 12 pack could handle in a few hours or is there a giant ice shelf (over deeper water)that is preventing us from launching?

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I have a pound of 3F black powder in the garage

Right on Rootski. Now were talkin…..
Maybe this weekend I will grab a chainsaw, chisels and have myself a little party down there!

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Thanks for the updates everyone. I was able to get in at HF ramp the other day with no problems.

Anyone have a comment on the Lilydale ramp? Is it something where a guy and a chisel and a 12 pack could handle in a few hours or is there a giant ice shelf (over deeper water)that is preventing us from launching?

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If I ever agree to something like this please remember to remove the dangerous chisel from my hands after my 4th or 5th beer. Thanks.

Hidden Falls always works for me, but there is also ramp on the MN just upriver of the confluence. That should be open too, does anyone know if it is and how you get there?

Any report out of HF Steve?

JP

Dave,

No idea if it’s open or not, but you’re referring to the Fort Snelling State Park ramp. I believe you’d need a state park permit to use it.

John

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Dave,

No idea if it’s open or not, but you’re referring to the Fort Snelling State Park ramp. I believe you’d need a state park permit to use it.

John

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Does that dump out onto the MN? For some reason, I thought that Ft Snelling ramp dumped out onto those back waters somewhere.

I used it a few times maybe 3 or 4 years ago. You launch into the MN River, not the backwaters. It reminds me of the lilydale ramp in terms of the river section, so I’d guess it would still be iced up.

I’d stick with 494 or Hidden Falls until Steve is done opening Lilydale.

I went down to the Lilydale ramp today and the water is wide open but the ramp it self is covered with a couple inches of packed snow from the driveway to the water.

And the ice lip at the end of the ramp dumps into about 3 feet of water. Lilydale is a no go for at least a few more day. I’m keeping an eye on it. I also might go check out the Fort Snelling ramp. I usually get a park sticker anyway.

dd

As Joel mentioned, Lilydale is a little ways away from being ready. I brought equipment along in the boat the other day in case the bite slowed to work on it. There is a massive lip of ice at the waters edge that is not going away anytime soon, so I bailed on my plan…plus the bite never slowed on that particular day!