Out with my brother this morning from 5-8.30 and the bite sure slowed down since monday. Not sure if it was the front that moved through or the fact that the mayflies were all gone (and many of them eaten by walleyes) but we had to work for 3 fish. Nice thing was a 26 and 27 respectively.
One noteworthy difference was not a bump on a crankbait. All bites were jigs/crawlers fished very very slowly at the base of dams.
I was out there as well and noticed the same thing!! The sheeps we in full force!! We ended up with 3 eyes on the jigs and did have one eat a grapler. Caught lots of fish just not the eyes we wanted 
Great night to be on the river though!!!
We were talking in the boat while down there fishing P2 the other day. Used to be we would book a week long trip “Up North”, fish hard for week and may get lucky enough to boat a fish or 2 like these. That would make the trip!! But most years it was just fish stories where the 23’s and 24’s got to be 10 pounders before long. 
We know we are so spoiled having a barrel full of fish so close to home like P2 where a “Slow” day is a couple>three 25 to 28 inchers!! LOVE IT!! 
-J.
John I couldn’t agree more. another brother keeps trying to get me to fish somewhere else and I can’t convince myself. we are really lucky to have such an incredible big fish factory so close and managed so well.
Pool 2 is catch and release only correct, for all game fish?
yes
The thing is it’s not just on pool2, I talked to a buddy in Iowa, Pool’s 11 and 12 are kicking out big fish also, it’s a testament to how good a fishery the Mighty Miss. is. I would bet you would get nice big fish on any pool all the way to Southern Iowa.
I agree with you John. The last few years there are big fish coming from everywhere on the Mississippi. It seems like just a few years ago some pools where happy to catch a fish or 2 over 20″s. Now there are reports of good numbers over 20″s.
Pool 2 will give any northern Minnesota lake a run for its money in the trophy category. Also, you can’t get that wonderful fragrance of refinery up north, Mmm! 
Seriously, scenery and smell withstanding, fishing doesn’t get much more fun than Pool 2…except maybe Pool 4 certain times of the year. 
I’ve probably been fishing Pool 2 for 8 or so years now and in that time it has cleaned up alot, the fish look alot healthier and there’s not a place in Minnesota that you can see more bald eagles in a day out, there everywhere, there are nests all over. Have any of you seen the hen turkey and her chicks that live on one of the islands down there, I have seen her several times. There does seem to be alot more tuna boats than there has been in the past. Pool 2 works real well for me when I am on call, I can still fish in the metro and I’m not far if I get dinged. 
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We know we are so spoiled having a barrel full of fish so close to home like P2
Nice Job Micah
you mentioned iowa waters having big fish. i can’t fish pool 14 and NOT catch a 20-26″ nearly every time i fish the pool. with the slot limits imposed a few years back the numbers of large walleyes has gone up 20 fold! last monday my boat caught a 26″, 2 x 22″, 2 x 21″, and a 20″, three 15-20″ fish, and 3 x 14.5″ fish! that is crazy fishing anywhere you go and all those fish were caught in about 4 hours of fishing! i am all for keeping those slots and catch and release regs! 
eagles, turkeys, and a lot of other critters too. I saw two deer swim across the entire channel from Newport Island two weeks ago. Its a little gritty from Lions upstream…but from there south all the way to the dam the scenery is spectacular.
J
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No doubt the restrictions make the fishery. If they opened up P2 for keeping walleye they would be slaughtered and the fishing quality would dramatically drop. It would end up being similar to P3.
I agree they should keep P2 a C&R fishery but I wouldn’t go as far as saying P3 is all too bad…
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No doubt the restrictions make the fishery. If they opened up P2 for keeping walleye they would be slaughtered and the fishing quality would dramatically drop. It would end up being similar to P3.
I agree they should keep P2 a C&R fishery but I wouldn’t go as far as saying P3 is all too bad…
Hope to see P2 stay C&R as well, even though I consider P3 to still be a great fishery.
Not saying P3 is bad. Just saying P2 is way better thanks to mandatory C&R.
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Not saying P3 is bad. Just saying P2 is way better thanks to mandatory C&R.
I hear ya!! I have spent a ton of time on both waters and P3 has kicked out some fantastic fish. I still believe #’s on p3 are better at times but that 20-27 inch class is no where near what you see up north. There are some pigs in p3 there though and can compete at times with p2 on those 28+ fish. Whats amazing on P2 is the avarage size you see. Especially the post spawn run in late april or early may. You just do not catch 15-22 inch fish or when you do its a suprise! As far as avarage size no where in MN can compete with P2 IMO….. Not even those skinny fish up on the pond 
Like you guys are saying it just show you what slots and C&R can do for a fishery!
The funny part is that tons of people in the cities here have no idea whats right in the back yard but you wont see me trying to stop them from heading north
I’m doing P3 tonight and P2 in the morning. Cant wait.
Hey WE are all doing C&R on pool 2; but there always have been and will be some walleyes making it to the fry pan from 2. And then you got to figure in a lot of gut hooked fish every year too. In my mind those factors make 2 an even more impressive fishery.
I haven’t been out on the river in weeks. Hopefully this weekend I get in a fix.
dd
i’ll be sneaking out of work this afternoon for p2. makes it hard to work this morning.
i digitally enhanced Micah’s photo from above and was able to deduce the exact coordinates where he caught that fish from his 522C thats facing the camera.
cant wait to get there.
Jason, it’s a 332C so your digital enhancement is going to be way off and everyone knows it!
As I was putting those pics up I thought, certainly someone is going to throw out a shot about not washing out the background and yadayada…
Here’s the thing, IT’S CATCH AND RELEASE!
Or at least that’s my feelings on it. It’s not like the majority of people are going out there and putting the knife to all these fish that are being caught. I can pretty much guarantee I’ve got some of the same fish Mike W has caught and vice versa.
I’ve seen particular people on certain dams and they tell me this dam is “the best” for big fish and they catch all sorts of fish off a spot. Then I fish it and I can’t figure out how to get the bait in the right spot on the spot and think it’s no good.
Even if you know where a person is fishing, you still have to get out there, anchor in the right position, cast the right bait, with the right weight to current ratio, and present the bait in the right spot and hope there is a fish there at that time. It’s the fine tuning that makes a really good fisherman. Something that I am learning to do more and better each and every time I’m out on the water.
So if you can tell where I’m fishing, good work. If you can catch big fish off these spots, even better…that’s why I let them go (that and the DNR regs of course.)
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Jason, it’s a 332C so your digital enhancement is going to be way off and everyone knows it!
dangit….maybe ill have time to re-enhance the image….adjusting for 190 c’s
Micah…I couldn’t agree more. In my opinion, fishing for p-2 sumos takes finesse and ability to read the water. If you’ve developed that skill to some extent…then you already know which spots to start looking for fish.
that being said…with the Moore’s tourny coming up i might be cropping a couple pics if I happen to run across some sumos.
Where does pool 2 start / end?
Never fished it, but sounds like a “must see” area!
Mike
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So if you can tell where I’m fishing, good work. If you can catch big fish off these spots, even better…that’s why I let them go (that and the DNR regs of course.)
I have not been putting too many pictures up this year because of fear that spots may be run over but you have a very good and genuine point there. I am one that could learn from that. I like to share info and dont mind giving up hot presentations but have to get over the picture worries
FYI there are some nice cats swiming under you there also!! Just have lost too many from the wood under the shore side of the bow!!!
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Where does pool 2 start / end?
Never fished it, but sounds like a “must see” area!
Mike
From Dam in Hastings MN up stream to next dam. (Ford Dam) in St. Paul.
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Where does pool 2 start / end?
Never fished it, but sounds like a “must see” area!
Mike
From Dam in Hastings MN up stream to next dam. (Ford Dam) in St. Paul.
Where do you guys launch? Or maybe a better question, where are the launches located, and which launches have better access, parking, ramps, closest to the wing dams, etc…?
Thanks!!
Hey Buschman, was that you out there I saw this morning in the Lund Tiller?
Frankly I guess I’d side with both Micah and Buschman 
I do agree with Micah when it comes to being a C&R pool and that if folks do show up and catch the fish, they are to be release anyway. Even if you told someone where to go, what to do, and how to do it, that’s null until they actually do it. On the other hand, I agree with Buschman about being a little conservative on photos.
Personally, I’m a fan of the photos. I enjoy looking at them just as much as the next guy. That being said, you still have no obligation to reveal your spots. Being prepared with the camera ready and taking the picture with a discrete/null background coupled with cropping the photo works wonders! Honestly I’d rather see photos with the entire background edited out than none at all!
And Yes, even with the cropping, looking at the shoreline trees etc may still reveal a spot, but I figure if you know those trees well enough then you already know that spot
petey,
that is exactly my thoughts on that. if you know which tree is located on a particular piece of shore then you probably already know that spot and have fished it.
That was me. Was pretty busy over there so didnt stick around long. Those channels were pretty fun this weekend !
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