Jumboooooo. Congrats, Jim!

I also caught my PB last week! A 27 incher that weighed 8.6 lbs.

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This is the only article I could find. Similar exhaustive search though.

https://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Releases/Article/3928137/corps-of-engineers-awards-10-million-contract-to-build-island-upstream-of-lock/

Made it out for a couple hours on Friday and got to meet Mr. Steve Root. You’re a heck of nice guy, Steve.

Made it out again Sunday morning for quite a few hours and had to work for them, but good size fish. The guy I was fishing with clobbered them (can’t say the same for myself).

The hot days this September have been brutal, so I’m really glad to see that temps will start cooling down. It’s felt like July/August with the mid 80s and no wind.

There’s doesn’t seem to be much current.

Haha! 5 bucks per angler it is! Bring your A-game buddy, they don’t call me the big drum for no reason.

I’m in! Mike Otis and Ben Cesar.

Lucky for you guys, this river rookie hasn’t been fishing a whole lot since I became a dad a year ago. It definitely means that someone else has a shot at catching biggest drum. I’m looking at you Joe.

I’ll also bring a side or two for the fish fry.

Jumping on the pike bandwagon from a few posts ago.

I was out this past Sunday and caught two 30″ish pike on sand, and I never catch pike. Fun times. I also found a few walleyes on most wing dams I tried, a couple angry 24s but nothing overly large.

I won’t be able to make it this year, we had twin girls May 28th. Funny enough, I’ll be fishing Sunday morning because my wife and MIL are taking the twins to a baby shower.

Feel free to share all your spots with me after the Hog Haul is finished. Sunday will be my third time getting out since they were born… makes me want to cry like these babies.

If it works out, we might stop down for the potluck.

I’ll likely be there!

Thanks, Steve! I appreciate you taking to time to get to the bottom of it.

Hope you’ve all been well! It’s been a while since I’ve posted.

Quick question – at what point/water temp do you guys start using worms?

Also, I finally got a new-to-me boat, no more 14’er with a 9.9 for this guy. Stop by if you see a blue 16′ Starweld out on P2.

Mike Otis & Ben Cesar are in. Might have a third, but I’m not sure.

Really looking forward to this, thanks for coordinating it. I really appreciate the work that goes into it.

I’m going to second Steve’s comment about excellent suggestions.

You all have been a world of help for me figuring out this section of the river throughout the past two years. Whether it’s directly or indirectly, I really appreciate everyone’s insights. Thanks a ton.

Also, is anyone else in the Twin Cities metro seeing any progress with their tomatoes and peppers?

A few friends and myself aren’t seeing much growth, and I can only assume it’s because of these cooler temps. Plants are healthy, just not growing much.

I’m a big fan of soaker hoses and the 4 spigot timers. It allows me to tailor the amount water for the type of veggie, and keeps my watering consistent.

If we have a lot of rain the forecast, I simply turn off the timer until things dry out.

I grow peppers in pots (not well), and water those by hand. I agree with picklerick, they need much less water than most.

I try to stick with once a week, deep watering, unless the weather tells me otherwise. I mulch heavy with a combination of leaves and straw.

Fished for about 2-1/2 hours last night and caught a couple nice saugers trolling crank baits in 5-10 FOW. Water was 67, dirty in some areas but a foot of clarity in others. Tried jig and plastics for a little bit, but no dice.

Lions was still closed, so I would assume 494 is still closed, but I can’t say for sure. Ended up launching out of Willy’s.

I started fishing the river fall of 2020, so this is my first season with higher water and I’m really looking forward to it. Anyone been fishing the upper half of the river and having any luck?

I haven’t found a ton this year, but enough to keep this guy happy. I’m going to keep checking for a bit since the weather is staying cool.

Made a quiche yesterday for the first time, and it turned out great. Asparagus, ramps, and green onions all from the back yard. I also added feta and parmesan. Kept the bacon on the side because I didn’t want it to overpower the morels.

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Thanks for the reports guys! I’m going to head out tonight after work today and see what I can find.

I held off as long as I could, but woofta have we been getting a lot of rain.

On that same note, we replaced the strip of grass between the sidewalk and road with native pollinator plants. We started them from seed, and this is year two, so we’re excited for everything to bloom this year.

Happy as a clam!

Hoping to transfer some of that success into a BWCAW trip I’m starting tomorrow morning. Ice just came off up there, and we’re going to have some strong sunshine hitting those rocks. Fingers crossed for an awesome shallow water bite up there.

Much appreciated guys, these river systems have some of the best anglers around. Heck of a good group.

Thanks guys, this is very helpful. I appreciate you taking the time to get back to me.

Beautiful night out there last night, really great to have some enjoyable temps after this bitter winter.

The 494 lot was nearly full when I got there at 5, but there were a few spots open.

If you ever have an interest in snagging buffalo with blade bates, I’m your guy. Walleyes… might want to ask someone else.

This is my second spring on the river, and I’m going to bite the bullet and hire a guide. You all have been super helpful with pointers, tips, and general tactics, and I couldn’t be more appreciative, but who would you suggest I go with? My goal is to learn new things, and refine what I’m currently doing, not necessarily put piles and piles of fish in the boat.

Feel free to PM me.

-Otis

Woofta! Jumbo!

Love the stuff. I have pho every week before my Frogtown Curling league, sometimes multiple times a week.

You guys should also try Hu Tieu if the restaurant serves it. It’s the pork broth variety of pho.

I highly recommend Trieu Chau Restaurant, one block east of Dale and University. Dynamite egg rolls, fantastic soup, and owner, Min, is hilarious. Chatty SOB, he loves nice Canadian whisky, Redbreast is his favorite.

Good luck out there! Thanks for the heads up, Mike.

A few of the back channels of Tonka are freezing up, might even be fishable, but I haven’t made the drive out there yet.

I grew up fishing it, but live nearly 45 minutes from there now.

I went out on P3 Saturday morning and picked up a few fish on sand, smaller fish. This was my first time out on the upper stretch of pool three.

I’m not going to get out this week, but I’ll likely be hitting P2 next week.

Definitely slow for me on Saturday. I could only fish 9am-2pm, our only luck came between 1-2pm and we were drifting jigs in 20 FOW.

I agree with Steve, seems like the die off is happening right now based on the amount of birds. We had to have seen 25-30 eagles sitting in the trees just south of the water treatment outlet. 6 on that single branch that sticks out of the water between the first and second wing dam. So cool.

Got out on Tuesday and didn’t get skunked! Handful of walleyes, and most came on cranks.

I’m a big fan of the Frabill 36″x10″x3″ case. It is much thinner than most rod cases which really helps me fit everything in a single sled. The inside foam also hugs the rods so nothing moves around in the case.

The only “downfall” is that you need to loosen the handle on your reel and fold in inwards. I personally don’t consider this a downfall though, it takes two seconds to fold them in.

Walmart has it on sale right now, but I prefer to spend my money at mom and pop shops.

Good luck out there this winter!