Pool 2 Weekend Report

By Mike W 0

Great weekend to be back on the river. The weather this weekend was more like May than March. The walleye bite we found seemed a little different for this time of year to and left me feeling more like I was fishing in June. Even with the wind blowing like crazy, mid temps and a decent bite made for a great weekend on the river.

Our pattern was to stay away from the confluence and what I figured would be a very busy weekend there. Working wing dams and shoreline rocks hoping for a big fish or two was the plan. Never did end up finding that truly big gal this weekend but did find better numbers than expected and a good number of decent sized fish. Jon did get big fish honers this weekend with a very nice 27″er he found Saturday afternoon.

Pitching H20 jigs with rinngworms was the bait of choice. Tried a few different colors but purple/chartreuse ringworms easily won out as a fish favorite this weekend. Jig weights on these where 1/8th and 3/16ths depending on how deep and the amount of wind blowing.

Did get to play with the new BfishN Pulse R paddletail briefly this weekend. 1st cast out popped a nice mid sized walleye on it. That was a good sign and I hope to spend more time trying out this new bait in the next few weeks.

Number over the weekend where a little better than I figured they would be for fishing the pattern we did. Saturday produced about a dozen walleyes but most where large males in the 20″ range. Still very fun fish to catch the way they where crushing the baits.

Sunday only produced 7 fish for us but the over all size was better. Half our fish this day where right around 24″s. Not the truly trophy class walleyes I was hoping for but with the way they where fighting and smacking those jigs it was still was a lot of fun and made for a great weekend of fishing.

With continued mild temps this week it will be hard to stay away from the river. Good luck to you guys that are getting out.

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Mike W

45, self employed at HomeTown Plumbing Inc., 1 wife, 3 kids. Enjoy fishing rivers in MN. N St Croix, N Miss, Pool 2, Pool 4, and always looking for a new river to try. Spend most of my time chasing Full Bio ›

0 Comments

  1. Also did start to get into some white bass over the weekend. We found them while dragging jigs on a flat just off the main channel. Never did check but I would imagine temps in there where a degree or 2 warmer and these fish where most likely waiting for the near by back water lake to open up.

  5. Nice fish Mike. A couple of those mid-size fish look lean for this time of year. Reason I noticed is because I asked a fisheries biologist over the weekend how big male walleyes get …and was thinking either those are very large males, or they are females which don’t appear to be spawning. I guess they could have spawned too but that seems unlikely.

  6. We where wondering the same thing about them to Jason.

    Jon caught that 27’er off the same dam you guys where fishing Friday night Wil. Maybe the difference was that it wasnt blowing 20 mph up river and temps where well above freezing. He was pretty happy to pick that fish up after loosing a big one there the day before.

  7. Fun weekend as always on Pool 2 – Thanks again Mike!

    Mike is a great guide. He has proven he can put fish in the boat during any season, good or bad weather, high or low water. Don’t matter, he flat out knows where to go looking! Want to catch pool 2 walleyes and learn a ton about the river? Hire Mike for a day.

    We talked about the larger fish that were on the slim side. Big males? Don’t know. But as long as we got a few of the chunky fat females mixed, I guess I’m not too concerned. I’m more concerned about the overall spawn this year. Don’t look good at all. Luckily we have had several good years in a row. So long term, nature seems to take care of herself.

    -J.

  10. My hats off to you Mike for catching fish when everyone else I talk to seem to be having a tough time out there. Is there a certain depth you’re targeting? Also, I have a newer lakemaster chip but it doesn’t have depth contours for the river. Is there mapping available for pool 2?

  12. The navionics app is well worth the $10. and it is spot on!! Also great write up, hopefully I can say the same tomorrow

  13. Great report and fish Mike. Had about an hour and half of fishing this afternoon, hooked into some awfully scrappy smallies, dragging. No walleyes, but had to head in way earlier than planned.

    Anyways, I had surface temps of 42 above the Confluence and 40-41 below the MN. With continued warm weather these fish are going to be into the spawn full steam ahead.

    I guess some of those fish could’ve been spawned out?
    Looks to be one of those years with a blink of an eye pre spawn is over. Temps of sixties and even seventy later this week.
    Thanks for the report and pictures.

  15. Mike, wondering if the ice is finally off the river or do you still have to be carefull?

    Any floating chunks of ice to still contend with??

  16. The ice is pretty much of the main channel. Still ice in the back channels. Its the river and you always need to keep a eye out for something. Could be ice from the back channel or like me today smacking a beaver log floating down river.

    For depths this weekend they varied depending on time of day. Some times 15 to 20 at the base of the rocks or even off them a little. Right up on the rock at sun set in the 5 to 10′ range.

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