Dean Marshall, manager of Everts Resort, and I had the chance to hop in the boat with Steve "DeeZee" Dezurik on Pool 2 yesterday afternoon for a little open water walleye excursion. If your mind has recently been distracted with thoughts of big walleyes coming through little holes in the ice I’ve got news for you… the best walleye bite in the state is taking place within sight of the metro on open water… RIGHT NOW!
Normally DeeZee would be making this report but as we talked through the evening we thought it might be interesting to have "the other guide" in the boat do the report from the perspective of a river guy along for the ride away from his home waters. Hopefully I do a decent job of things and maybe an alternative perspective will have some value. If this works I think I’ll have DeeZee down to pool 4 for a piggie hunt and we’ll have him do the same in kind.
Back to the fishing info…
If you’re reading this but unaware of how unseasonably warm its been lately, I want to know how you got dial-up in your cave… ‘cuz you must be living in one! When DeeZee called and extended the invite I HAD to go. There was no staying home to work on the website. Dean from Everts had been up with DeeZee a week prior and the fishing was good that night… but Dean had struggled and was looking to redeem himself.
And that’s just what Dean did! They say that on any given sunday, any team can get hot and beat any other team. Or every dog has its day… well this was his day. We all caught fish. Dean somehow managed to only catch the big ones which left Steve and I to spend more time than we cared with our hands wet up to our elbows helping Dean land his piggies since the "guide" forgot the net!
For the night we landed 25 or so nice walleyes with very few fish under 4 lbs. Surprisingly we didn’t lose a single fish boat-side. Chalk that up to the fish aggressively gobbling our baits… 4" ringworms on BFT Precision Heads.
Keying in on the right colors made a profound difference in catch rates last night. The previous week DeeZee had been whumping on fish with Chartreuse Pepper ringworms… last night we caught ONE walleye total on that pattern. Dean had been doing well on pool 4 living by this general pattern… "fish firecracker, oystershell or pro blue until the sun starts to go down, then it’s all purple."
Well DeeZee and I both started out rigging chartreuse pepper and before I got my head out of the tackle box Dean was already asking for someone to volunteer to get wet to help him land his first fish shown Top-Right!
And so it went… until the sun set the natural patterns were good but after that the plain purple 4" ringies took over.
All of our fish were caught on wingdams although we did hit some sand flats and one side cut area with current. No fish came from these alternative spots. Our productive wingdams were usually found to be in the middle of a series of dams… not at the head of the series where the flow would be most intense… not at the tail of a series where the flow would be minimal to non-existent. This makes sense of course given how much higher water levels are this winter compared to most winters past. If your key dams are usually one of the first in the series at this time of year… this will be an adjustment in location that will pay huge rewards.
Our presentation was standard wingdam fishing fare… anchor above and slightly off to the side of the target area. Cast down to the dam and slightly inside to allow the current to move your bait through the suspected fish holding area. Get it right and the fish responded with a strike that transmitted right through to your elbow!
Since it was the "Dean Show" last night, here’s 4 of his best. We all got to catch more then enough to put a big smile on our ugly mugs but Dean had the touch for making sure he only caught the big girls. A great time was had by all and we hope to do it again soon. If you’re looking to kick the mid-winter blahhhs, give Steve DeZurik a holler. He’s got the fish on Pool 2 as dialed in as a guide can get them and the feeling of moving water under your feet in January is a feeling that can’t be beat.
A note about ramp & river conditions…
The ramp at 494 is flawless. There’s no ice ANYWHERE to trouble launching. Please remembr to drain your trailers at the water’s edge before you pull completely off the ramp to avoid icing everything as you pull ahead.
The river itself is free of ice except for a few chunks small enough to be used in mixed drinks.
yeah…..what he said….
sweet what eles can be said
Can I borrow that horseshoe you have hidden in your pocket Dean?? Great fish guys!!!!
Is there a day bite going at all???? Looks like the night bite is very strong…Just wondering cause I don’t know the river well enough to be running it at night
… 
Thanks and oh yeah by the way.
By the way, how many of them were out of the hog hole????
JK!!!!!!!
Way to school the boys Dean!
Nice work, guys! What jig weight(s) should I have pre-rigged when I hit the water tomorrow?
Oh, and Gary, isn’t your “hog hole” more of a bobber/live bait type area???
Sweet lookin’ piggies there fellas. Nice job taking those young pups to school Dean!
You mean you guys didn’t catch ANY cats!!!!
Way to teach’em Dean!!
Well folks, even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile!
DeeZee and James helped me find more than one this time out.If you have the itch to catch a biggun,I cant think of a better oppurtunity to get that job done,than with Steve on pool 2. steves web page will certainly shorten the learning curve to putting big fish in the boat.I can hardly put five fish in the boat of any size ,to say the least of catching that many quality fish in just a few hours!Thankyou Steve, for an unforgettable outing on the river and for putting up with Holst as well! 
John,1/8,3/16,and1/4 oz BFT Jigs got the job done for us.Good luck!
Calvin, you have a PM.
James,
Very nice report, and great pics. DEAN way to go on the wup-
YOU DA MAN….
Jack..
VERY nice fish Dean. Way to go!
When you are hot you are hot! Thanks for the report and pics. 
Thanks, Bill
Way to go Dean!
I was on pool 4 and stopped to talk with Dean on the way out. He showed me the pics from last night! Man what an excellent adventure! Always a pleasure to talk with you Dean!
dd
That is awesome
Dean, good to see you get out to fish a little instead of always handing out great tips and places to try to other’s 
Nice fish Dean
!!
Looks like your making up for that lost fishing time!
Awesome report James! Nice to see a river report from you even if it is on Pool 2.
Chris
Why can’t my tourney partner do that during a tourney??????
. Just kiddin bud, nice fish! Hope to make it down sooner than later.
Good job Dean, hopefully your “pattern” rings true for me tomorrow. See you in the afternoon.
Jami
WOW
Good fishing with you guys the other night. I had a feeling before Dean and James showed up on Wednesday that Dean was ready for bitter sweet revenge….and was it ever! Way to step up Dean and get it done!
The bite yesterday was on track to be just as good as the day prior, but we cut it short due to other obligations! A couple 24-1/2″ fish yesterday took top honors!
As for the day bite…..Depends on the day. The morning and evening bite continues to be the best time to e on the water, however, the overcast skies tend to get the bite going earlier in the afternoon and holds on later into the morning than if we had high blue bird skies. IF you are fishing during the midday timeframe, I would target a couple techniques, 1) would be to target the deeper wingdams and focus on the current break that is parallel with the shoreline and perpendicular to the wingdam. This is the place to throw out all the stops and put the odds in your favor. The bites can be spread out during the day right now, but definately worth the wait.
The second technique that I would reccomend during the midday hours would be to drag ringworms between deeper wingdams. There are alot of fish that will sit in this “dead zone” during the non-feeding periods and dragging a much lighter 1/16th to a 1/8th oz BFT Precision jigs and plastic up and downriver in these areas can be deadly.
Those are some nice Fish
I’m asking my self as I read this report, why is it that I’m staring down an ice hole rather than jumping in the boat 
I just don’t know. Great report James, its nice to get a different perspective on things. thanks alot!
DeeZee, James, & Dean-
Thanks so much for the excellent report and pics!
I hope we have similar results this weekend! 
Those are some beautiful piggies!! 
I managed to make it out for just two hours last night and the fish were definitely still cooperating. The wind made the pitching tough in a few spots but overall it was a great evening.
Dean, you wanna talk about blind squirrils? I brought my cousin along … he doesn’t fish and can barely cast (honestly) but likes to smoke cigars and drink beer in the boat and I don’t mind his company. Somehow he managed to catch the biggest fish of the night, which was a really nice 26″ fattie. It was the second walleye he has ever caught! Guys, don’t ever pass up on a chance to bring a beginner along. Beginners’ luck beats experience every time!
Nice report guys.
How late into the night does this bite go? Are you anchoring down current of the wingdams and letting the current bring your jig back to the boat or are you pulling it up the current?
Thanks
eyefishing,
The bite has pretty strong right at sundown and then periodical short spurts of action from then on.
When fishing a wingdam, I most always fish the upstream side of the wingdam. I like to position the boat within a easy cast of the front side of the dam and then slowly work the jig back to the boat. Jig size is absolutely critical when doing this, so fish the lightest jig you can but still be able to maintain bottom contact to keep the jig in the strike zone. As Dean mentioned above, 1/8-1/4oz has been my may stay the last several weeks. Sometimes a light shift in boat position with the anchor can make a huge difference. As James mentioned in the report, you want to be able to sweep the jig across the front face of the dam. When you find the right jig size, the jig will almost float on a taut line. Just lift your rod about 2 feet and stop and let the jig do the work for you. When the jig rests back on the bottom, repeat the lift and pause approach back to the boat.
Good luck!
James and Steve,
You guys never cease to amaze me. 
Congrats Dean on your big catches!!
Great report guys!
I was on the river on monday. Got a couple early on a wingdam, got another vertical jigging the main channel, and then tried Steve’s suggestion of dragging an 1/8oz jig between the wing dams. I gave a bit of a snap and let it fall. Got three more doing that
Question though for you Steve. You describe another option of fishing structure that is perpendicular to the wing dam. Are you talking about shoreline structure or fishing the tip of a “L” shaped wingdam? Or maybe a better question would be could you explain further what you are talking about?
Thanks and good fishn to ya!
Jim,
Sounds like you had a good time out there. I have been on the water periodically lately while trying to get over a cold….
Getting on the water was my best solution to getting better….that was a hard sell to upper management!
Jim,
The perpendicular current break I was referring to is where the current is in transition…meaning if I was fishing the 3rd or 4th wingdam, I will not be seeing the blunt of the current like the front 2 or 3 dams are seeing. By the time to current gets caught up to me on the 3rd or 4th dam, its broken up quite a bit. Depending on the dam, but you will see a transition between faster and slower water going downstream hitting the wingdams. Sometimes these spots will be closer to shore than others. Sometimes you do not need wingdams up river from you for this to take place either. IF you looked closely at the first dam in a stretch, you would see that the closer to shore you go, the slower the current will get. Sometimes it would be only 15-20 feet off shore and sometimes farther out. Basically the flow is always going to go the path of least resistance.
Does that make any sense? Cause I am not sure my fingers typed what I was thinking correctly?
Hope that helps a bit?
Steve
Good report, I am from Hastings, How would I fish the area you talked about?? I am retired, have some stuff and would like to try Pool#2″ Where do launch from? Just an old fisher guy thinking about the good times some of you are having, LOL.
Hastings Guy
hi Guy,
Welcome to IDA first of all.
the ramp under the 494 bridge had been reported in good shape this last week. there are maps avail from the dnr office in booklets, called Metro River Guide, and Mississippi River Guide. they should be free, they don’t show depths but give you a pretty good idea of the layout of the wingdams. on Pool 2 all Walleyes are 100% release by regulation. good luck, and take a camera.
Jack..
OH Guy,
Jack hit it on the head. The best ramp that I like to use on Pool 2 is the 494 ramp that is located directly under the 494 bridge in South St. Paul on the west side of the river. There is some significant bridge construction going on, but the road to the ramp remains open. The will put almost in the middle stretches of Pool 2.
I would highly recommend utilizing the powerful search command this site has and do some quick searches on Pool 2 related fishing topics. You will find valuable information from loads of fellow IDA members about their success or findings. You can also look back at all the archived fishing reports that I have done over the years here on Pool 2 for different times of the year.
Hope this helps you get started and just
if you have nay questions!
Welcome to the site!
Ohhhhhhhhhh I get it! A light bulb just went on over this noggin of mine! Thanks much!
