Pool 2 Saturday(7/14)

Fished Pool 2 on Sat. Problem getting on at 7am because Hidden Falls and Watergate were both closed. Really ticked us off as we were driving around trying to find somewhere else to get on as our fatheads were dying. It says that Hidden Falls opens at sunrise, but at 7:20 or so, they were still closed. We launched at Lillydale, but after making the run up the river, we saw people launching at Hidden Falls (7:45 or so). Anyone know when they typically open the gates?

Anyway-fishing was good, and lots of fun. Within the first hour jigging at the Ford Dam we have 7 species (walleye, sauger, saugeye, carp, striped bass, drum, crappie-real nice ones). The biggest eye was 22″. Fishing slowed and with info from an FTR post( thanks) we started cranking the shores in about 8-11′ of water. Picked up an eye every 15 minutes or so. Not explosive action, but constant. For the 4 hours that we fished, we probably caught 20 eyes and sauger with 3 over 20″. Another 20-30 or so other “stuff”. River was great, down about 6-8′ from my last outing.

Strong mudline at the MN river confluence. I have heard that this can be real good. What techniques are effective when fishing this mudline?

I will be back on Wed pm and will try to post addtional results/techniques.

Daveb,

I fished Pool 2 last night. I don’t have any info on the gates since we came out in the afternoon. We never got more than a mile from the hidden falls landing. We caught several nice fish, in the 16-18 inch range and some saugers mixed in with a couple smallies. My buddy was lucky enough to catch one eye that was 25″, 6.8lbs. What a fish!! The girth on that thing was amazing. The pleasure traffic wasn’t too bad. How far down do you go to fish?? We fished from the hwy5 bridge(I’m guessing, don’t know the area) up to the lock. Had a very enjoyable three hours on the water. I might try and get out again on Thursday night.

Fished from Ford Dam to MN River confluence. Jigged the Ford Dam area and cranked the shores from Highway 5 bridge to MN River confluence.

Lack of traffic is great, plus no big boats tearing up the water. Mostly fisherman and “cruising” bigger boats. I am always amazed at the quality of the walleyes from Pool 2. It seem that you catch as many over 20″ as you do under 20. With the sauger mixed in, it makes for fun fishing.

I was truely amazed at the quality of the fish we boated last night. Even the sauger were heavier than usual for the lengths. I’m definitely going to try this pool more often in the evenings. If you ever see a maroon lund renegade with a johnson motor, it’s probably me. Stop in and say hi!! I’ll post the results when the time comes. Have you been able to find a decent map for this pool?

No on the map. I am no expert on the area but from what I have seen, except for a few holes and eddies, it is pretty washed out from the constant strong current.

I will be sure to say “Hey!” if I see you. I have a old 12′ alumacraft with a 15 horse Merc. But I often fish with friends in their boats.

and sometimes you will see me out there as well…… but usually Im there for the cold water bite from november on…….. and usually at the launch on 494……

there are lots of nice fish in that pool…… catch and release WORKS…. I dont think there can be any doubt of that…..

Amen to catch and release, RiverEyes. One of the best fisheries in the state. Wouldn’t want to eat them out of there anyway, why not make it a trophy fishery. Halvy

Last night was my first time on the pool. I did notice that some of the water coming in out of culverts was pretty nasty smelling. I’m still in awe of how healthy the fish were that we caught. Where is the access off 494?? How long is Pool2, roughly. Where is the next lock located? I’m always trying to expand my knowledge of the area. Thanks for any and all info!!

Waterfowler,

If you want to know the pool boundaries, go to the general discussion forum and change your thread settings to “active in the last 3 weeks”. Then scroll down and click on page 6. You’ll see a posting titled “Pool Borders?” by Haywood04. In that post is a description of all the pool areas point to point, 1 through ……………………….I forget but I think it made it past pool 10 anyway. Take a look!

the 494 access is just downstream of 494…. its on the west side…. but you turn onto hardman av and go “north”, you will see a sign for public access the first road north about one block… you turn right onto that then go back south under the bridge…. the pool is about 20 miles long and ends at the dam in hastings…..

Thanks, I thought someone posted this info in the past, but I wasn’t sure.

When people say “who would want to eat fish out of pool 2 anyway” I always wonder. I am not an expert in the area, but upriver of Pool 2 the Miss is pretty nice. Starting at Pool 2, there starts to be some city runoff and power plants and the like. But should Pool 2 be better for eating fish than Pool 3, or Pool 4? Wouldnt the pollution get worse as you go down river or is the river able to filter out more of the pollution as it gets away from the city. I usually just eat walleye, and prefer the catch and release on Pool 2, but if a guy catches some crappie or some small cats are they OK to eat? Are they better than Red Wing and Prescott or worse?

I know that the DNR says the St Croix and Pool 4 walleyes shouldnt be eaten more than once a month by women of child bearing years or children (or not at all if above 20″) but how much of a concern is it.

I feel that all the warnings are overblown and as long as these fish arent your main diet you would be OK, but there is a concern?

Everything I’ve come across is in reference to mercury levels. I don’t like walleye’s over 20″ anyway so that’s fine by me but the dietary regulations do emphasize moderation in predator fish. Panfish look to be the healthiest choice for consumption but realistically, one good fish meal a month is good enough for my family and I space out the selection along with the time table. Like, if I had walleye this month, I’ll have panfish next month. Then pike after that. And so on. Until someone says it’s sheer poison, I believe the scare factor should be nothing more than a lit candle. You’re aware of the fire, but you also know there is no reason to fear if you follow precautionary measures. Just heed the suggested table and you and yours will be fine.

ahhhhh a subject I can really “sink” my teeth into!!

well perhaps Im mistaken.. but most of the river fish warnings are for PCB’s…. which I think has something to do with agricultural polution… probably pesticides….. mercury seems to be more of a lake problem.. and found a bit more north…… though I dont have my fish consumption guide in front of me.. and I tried to get into the Mn DNR online one.. but for some reason adobe freaked out on me… the link is….

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/lakefind/fca/index.html

anyway… PCB’s main fear is Mothers with children…. and there is some evidence it causes cancer in lab animals…. but projecting that to humans is tough….

I know Ive said this before, but it comes down to there are LOTS of water birds who CANT limit themselves to one meal a week or whatever…. (geeee Im sorry Mr Eagle.. you already ate fish this week.. guess you will have to eat something else!!)… these bird populations appear very healthy and they eat many meals of fish a week……

I contend there is not a problem and the guidelines are VERY safe…… as for why pool 2 may be a bit more polluted… Im NOT sure it is…. but if so, its most likely because the Mn River hits it directly and lots of pool 2 fish run up the Mn river….. and its an agricultural “cesspool”….. no doubt plenty of PCB’s rolling down river…. so fish here will be a bit worse than lower down….. or so I theorize……

I always say if you die from eating to many fish that you caught, you must have done something right.

Has anyone had any luck on the lower end of pool 2? Fished three hours Sunday morning managed to get a 22″ and 23″ eye. Caught ’em the on a sand flat trolling cranks in 6′-8′ of water. Have been doing alot of searching of the area trying to learn this part of the river a little better. Any ideas of where the fish seem to be holding this time of year, south of the 494 bridge, would be greatly appreciated.

hey rivereyes-one problem. There aint no eagles or large birds around Pool 2. DOH!

Mongo,

I spend quite a bit of time come August through December down south of 494. South meaning about 6-12 miles downriver hunting for these eyes. Yes there are some very nice eyes in this Pool. I am a wingdam nut and has taken me literally months to years to weed out the good producing wingies from the lacluster ones. 90 percent of the time I am throwing cranks and plastics and also hair jigs up and across the faces of these wingdams. What I like to do is once you find spots that produce fish. Keep these in mind and next time out, I will hit my good spots as well as my secondary wingies. I keep these secondary wingies in mind as a backup just in case of boating or angling pressure. Good Luck

LOL…. yeah…. no eagles or big birds……. hmmmmmmmm… good thing we cant eat those fish!! (id be dead by now!! now dont everyone say *darn* at once!!)

now everyone!!!! dont try and sneak out of pool 2 with any walleye snacks…. they will KILLYA!!!!! they will send you to DaveB’s Jones locker (ooooo thats a bad one! lol)

good point DaveB! that should keep our fish safe!!! *whew*

The debate on whether the fish are good for the body or not is nice talk, however; the fact that the fishing is excellent can be attributed to the catch and release regs. It’s a beatiful thing.

I’d agree that below the Mn. things get much worse with the quality of the water. I really think the Mighty Miss. above the Mn. confluence is pretty healthy.

Who knows about all tha? I’m going fishing. Halvy

DaveB-Care to elaborate on the crappies at the dam? Were you in the scour hole or down along the west shoreline? Casting minnows? You peaked my interest. Halvy

The crappies came on the downriver side of the island on the point that is formed. They were mixed in with a ton of drum that were on top of the point. The walleyes were just off the point