I have a question for all of you who fish Pool 2 on a regular basis. I read an interesting report off of FTR about a DNR study regarding walleye & sauger movements during the 4 seasons. How many of you fish pool 2 in the spring/summer months for these fish? What have been your biggest areas of success, and how much does the river level affect the fishing?
Prior to this year, I would catch nice fish (20″+) early and late in the year above the confluence, then they seemed to vanish and I was mostly catching 12-17″ers from July to September. This year, because of the high and fast water year round I think, there were as many fish at or over 20″ above the confluence as under.
Also-in prior years, I would average 1-2 cats on cranks in the summer. This year I caught 1 total-again probably because of the high water.
So next year should be real interesting. Are the 14-17″ fish from 2 years ago just bigger this year and will they be 23-25″ next summer? I hope so.
Either way, I need to pay some dues on the lower part of Pool 2 like I have on the upper part. There is a lot more water down there(Miss doubles after MN river confluence) and it will take that much longer to learn it, but I think that it will pay off.
What have you seen on the MN river? According to the same study that you mentioned, it seems that a lot of the bigger fish that seemed to “live” on the lower part of the Miss moved up into the MN river. Are the bigger eyes there year round or is it seasonal? Was this year better than the past?
RippinPigs,
The telemetry study on Pool 2 is pretty interesting reading. I would love to see an update of Pool 2 telemetry every couple years and maybe a bit larger number of fish tracked, but very interesting to say the least. The first time I read it, I was surprised at how many fish frequent the Mn River area throghout the late winter early spring runs.
One thing that Pool 2 is very sensitive to is when the Minnesota River lets out every year. As you know, when she goes, its nothing but a mud fest below the Miss/Minn confluence. And when this happens, well fishing gets tough to say the least. The fish are still there, you just need to work much harder for less. At this time I tend to look for back water cuts or major current breaks away from this high water conditions. Being patient with livebait can pay huge dividends in these conditions. You may only get a couple fish a day, but they can be good ones. Another sleeper presentation is pitching large profile plastics to shallow current breaks and flooded timber in pre-spawn conditions, this will prove some real pigs if you remain patient as this bite can be spotty. These muddy conditions can last a solid month at times and to sometimes longer. In the late spring and early summer is time to get out the crankbaits and cover some water. I like to look for shallow sand areas with some current nearby and concentrate my efforts in the 4-10ft of water and be ready to cover some ground.
The wingdams can offer some good areas to hold fish in pre-spawn/spawn time frames, but when current is really going, I like to escape the main channel blunt of current and go backwater or current breaks to find fish. 3-ways and bait can often out produce anything in these high water muddy conditions.
Like I said, below the confluence can be nasty muddy conditions and lots of floating debris this time of year but can be well worth your efforts for some large fish!
These are some of my personal conclusions on Pool 2 over the years..
I agree with both of you on the fact of the Pool 2 ‘eyes moving up into the MN. Next year will be my first year spring fishing both Pool 2 & the MN. From the data that was presented, I would think that fishing the confluence are would be the area to hit in early spring, and nail some of these fish that make that migration. That’s just me, of course… but you would think that the confluence would be a prime area to hit.
On the other hand, I have fished both in the fall. The big fish are in both areas to be honest… so I couldn’t really say which area is better. I think that Pool 2 gets more pressure vs. the further upstream the MN you go. But, I think you have a better chance of boating more fish on Pool 2. Of course, this was my first year hitting both of these areas, so I don’t really have any sort of history to go on. I did land big fish on the MN… and did get my fish of a lifetime down there, so I can say there are BIG ‘eyes to be had in fall. You maybe only will get a handful in an evening, but one of those may be a fish well over 10#.
One thing that I noticed on the study was the fact that fish moved all the way down to the extreme lower part of Pool 2 during the summer. Has anybody fished this area during that time period? Just curious as to any results.
Speaking of Pool 2-I am looking at knocking off work early on Tuesday and heading out. Either the airport of dam depending on ice. Should be 35 degrees and sunny. It might be the last chance at 30+ until Xmas.
The last three years summer/fall timeframes, I have spent the majority of my time down on the bottom end of the pool 2 with generally a positive response. The river opens wide down there and has alot of diverse ground that takes lots of time to explore and learn(Be careful). The main channel down on the bottom end is rimmed with sunken rip rap edges marked by the buoys. Tremendous amount of backwater country that has miles of 1-3 ft sections with an occasional dug out channel for barges from some time ago. Some of these channels are still active with barge traffic and some not and have silted in slightly. One of the most interesting things that I have found and coincides with the telemetry study is that the fish generally spend most of their time is this end in less than 10 foot of water. Although much of my fishing down here has been looking for above average size of fish (aren’t we all?LOL!) I have found that staying relatively shallow has proved to be the most consistant. Deeper haunts have given up numbers of smaller fish with an occasional nice fish mixed in, but the bigger fish has come shallower for me in the summer/fall timeframes down here. Again next year will see more of my time lurking down here to gain more knowlegde and “lay of the land”.
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