My favorite is blade baits. I like Berkley Vibratos. Just move them a little and they vibrate and they don’t tangle very often

I had some success last year trolling HJ12s with a technique I learned from
Steve Dezurik (sp?) on Mille Lacs. Trolled just fast enough to get it to wobble. Sweep the rod forward then pause the HJ by dropping rod back at speed of boat. Then with rod back let it wobble a little. Usually hit right when it starts to wobble after the pause. Fun bite!

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Anyone have a recent report on what’s working? Taking my wife’s friend’s son-in-law fishing this afternoon and I haven’t fished P2 in 2 weeks.
St. Paul gauge water temp is 55.4 F.

I caught 3 pike this AM, biggest 25”. They were healthy. Once in awhile I might get one in the 494 area, but today was 3. I usually get one or two in the upper pool.
Had good action for walleyes, biggest 25”.

They weren’t fussy on the Flicker Shad color this AM. Used several different colors.

I think the difference is on clearer water LMB can see the silhouette of prey or a lure/bait at night. I’m thinking black jitterbug at night on a lake.

You are correct, white mayflies. I didn’t know.
Ephoron (White Flies)
Mayflies
Caddisflies
Stoneflies
Taxonomic Navigation -?-
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
» Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Ephoron album
White Fly
Ephoron leukon
White Fly

On certain rivers in late summer the Ephoron mayflies gives new meaning to the words “blizzard-like hatch,” because their large white bodies give a true snowstorm appearance to their enveloping swarms. This is the most intense aquatic insect hatch of the year in places, and sometimes the flies are so thick that it’s hard to get a trout to find one’s imitation among the carpet of real insects on the water.

Ephoron leukon is most important species in the East and Ephoron album in the West.

Were those mayflies? They were white. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them before.
According to the DNR fisheries survey, Pool 2 water clarity is too low for site finders like largemouth, smallmouth and pike.
I did get this one and some small ones tight to shore Monday AM. Not big but bent the rod.
From the 2008 survey report:
Pool 2 is not ideal habitat for largemouth and smallmouth bass as the water clarity dramatically decreases after the Minnesota River confluence. Decent bass are present, but the numbers present are relatively low as bass are largely sight predators and are at a disadvantage.
Other game fish sampled in low abundance were bluegill, black crappie, white crappie, and northern pike. Again, conditions are not optimal in Pool 2 for these other game fish as water clarity in most of Pool 2 is poor, which puts these sight feeding game fish at a disadvantage

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I’ve had good walleye action this week. No hogs, biggest 23.5” and very few under 16”. Quality fish.
Did catch some channel cats, mostly small ones.
Regrading the silver carp report, DNR truck and trailer was in the 494 lot
Tuesday and today.

I think the sheriff has that authority. Pool 4 (down to Lake City) and the St. Croix are no wake.
Sheriff closed Red Lake last winter for awhile to motorized vehicles.

St. Paul predicted to hit major flood stage Wednesday afternoon, above 17’.

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Talked tobriefly to pro Owen Wilcox at Colville yesterday as he was landing his boat. He was in the lake and said it was tough.
We struggled. 4 short walleyes, a sauger, 2 sheepshead and an empty livewell.

NWT has 117 boats and they will be spread out.

Hopefully the post-spawn bite kicks in soon. I’m seeing Pool 4 reports the walleye bite is tough there too.
St. Paul gauge water temp is 51.5F, so the temp is good.

I was blanked Sunday. Fished from about 2:00 – 6:30 PM. Water is dirty, just a couple of inches of visibility. Lots of moss/leaves/debris in spots. Had something decent on with a blade bait but think I snagged it.

I would think most of the spawning is done. I had a couple prespawn walleyes Monday on Pool 4 but none on Thursday and the bite was much tougher. I did get some prespawn saugers.
A pool 4 study showed the peak walleye spawn started April 7-13 (photoperiod or daylight is one factor) with a water temp of at least 45 F. Peak spawning lasted 8-10 days.
Should be a good bite soon with some flow!

Article from Hunt Fish Manitoba states the photoperiod (i.e. amount of daylight) and water temperature are the key factors that trigger walleye spawning.
A 2-year Pool 4 telemetry study showed for those years the walleye spawn started April 7-13 and peak spawning lasted about 9 days. Water temp was 43 – 50 F.
“The photoperiod is a key signal for the walleyes spawning journey from their deeper winter environment to their shallower spawning grounds to begin. The amount of light a walleye is to encounter throughout the day will eventually hit a critical point. This amount of light will trigger an internal signal in the body which initiates the releasing of hormones to begin preparing the walleyes for the spawn. The photoperiod is one of the only factors that allows for an exact date every year in relation to the spawn. No matter the weather or temperature, the amount of sunlight during a specific time will always be the same year after year.”

https://huntfishmanitoba.ca/blog/making-sense-of-the-walleye-spawn/

My reading of the regs is you can not harvest minnows from P2 unless you have a permit for a cast net to take gizzard Shad only.
Page 30 states it’s illegal to harvest minnows from infested waters unless the body of water is infested only with Milfoil. P2 is infested with more than milfoil.
I wanted to get some emerald shiners last year but after reading the regs did not net any.

Hunter, that would be a great day any where else.

What was working?
Did you find them in deeper water, deeper than 10’?

Friday I found some in 14-19’ using paddle tails.

If anyone gets a ticket for fishing a Dubuque Rig on Pool 2, they could fight it.
As best I can tell, no where in the regulation pamphlet does it say an angler may not have more than one hook on a line.
It does say:
“Only one artificial/bait lure or one single tackle configuration can be used at the end of your line for it to be considered a single line.

Good to see the big sauger showing up. Caught a 20” this AM.

Bummer for me. The Gophers host Michigan that day (long time season ticket owner). Was looking forward to learning a few things from the Pool 2 river rats! Row the Boat!

There was a fish kill in the Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant discharge, which some people call Chemical Creek. Steve Root and I fished this AM and noticed some dead fish upriver from the 494 landing. Later we noticed a lot of dead fish at the discharge. The creek had a lot of dead fish. We were guessing around 100. Some had floated down to the 494 bridge when we came in about noon.
They were mostly carp and suckers, but we did see some walleyes and northerns.
I reported it to the DNR and will add a comment if I hear anything.

From the FB post:
If anyone knows the fisherman who pulled our son out of the river after he hit the dead head on the jetski by Wacouta Sat around 7 pm please let me know who they are so we can thank them for helping so quickly! He was conscious but bleeding from his chin pretty bad.
He got out of the hospital this morning with a jaw broken on both sides, 5 stitches in his chin and some broken teeth and minor internal bleeding in his abdomen. He’s pretty beat up but is going to make a full recovery.

DaveB, awesome walleye!
We had good action this afternoon/evening. Biggest was 26.5”.

We had good action Wednesday AM. 3 biggest walleyes were 21-23”. Jig and 1/2 crawler and trolling cranks worked.

I’m looking forward to pulling Dubuque rigs in the fall and winter.
From the Star Tribune:
Two lines also may be used in the Minnesota River downstream from the Granite Falls Dam and in the Mississippi downstream of St. Anthony Falls.

Mark Z, how do you snake troll in 11-15’ and keep your lure on the bottom?

I did OK this AM, casting and trolling cranks and dragging a jig and 1/2 crawler. Biggest was 22”.

Anyone have any advice on where to find walleyes?
I’ve been getting some, but don’t have a bite dialed in like last summer even when the water was low last year.
I’ve tried sand, rocks and some wing dams. A fish here and there and only one over 20”. Any where else I’d be happy, but it’s P2!

Thanks Steve!