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!

Anyone have any recent reports and is 494 open?
I see the river is low at 4.6’. It’s dropped 10.3’ in 14 days.

Thank you! Just had that problem on the water. The chip wasn’t in all the way.

I had 62 F when I got off the water tonight. Good crank trolling bite, biggest 21” and had a bigger one get off at the boat. A mix of eaters and small ones. Beautiful afternoon/evening.

NWS Red Wing river level forecast is 15’ (moderate flood stage) a week from now, 5/3. Red wing landings will still be flooded. And once the flood waters recede, crews will need time to cleanup the landings. I’m thinking it will be at least 2 weeks before Baypoint is open.

Current NWS prediction has St. Paul cresting mid-day Friday at 18.3’, up another 6.8’ from today (Saturday) at 7:00 AM and 1.3’ above major flood stage. That’s an incredible amount of water.
https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?gage=stpm5&wfo=mpx

It was slow for me Friday. Caught 2 nice saugers and snagged a little sturgeon. Everyone I talked with said it was slow. Anyone have a technique that tripped their trigger?

Excellent! Thanks for posting.

It was a cold, wet and windy afternoon. Caught a surgical mask, 5’ piece of cable and some sticks!
This was weird. A North American moving semi came up over the levee at the 494 access after I launched and parked. I fished downstream and then going back upstream it was at the top of levee. When I got my trailer, it looked like he had backed down the grass hill and had chewed up some mud on the side of the road. It was parked out on the street and getting a tow.

For dragging jigs in deeper water and pitching blades I use Suffix 832 10 lb, neon lime. I run a fluorocarbon leader so I don’t obsess about fish being line shy if I’m not getting bit. If I’m shallow, especially dragging downstream in warm, dirty water, I like Stren original mono 8 lb, hi-vis gold. High visibility line is definitely the way to go.

Fishing was slow for me Friday afternoon/evening. Caught a walleye and a sauger. That’s it.
How did everyone else do?

Friendly reminder, MN fishing licenses expired Feb. 28. I also needed new boat license tabs, mine expired December 31.

NWS also said:
The Temperature Outlook for March shows a potentially cooler than normal month with an edge toward above normal precipitation.
If this pans out, we could be adding through the month of March.

FYI – NWS updated the Twin Cities spring flood forecast:
“Mississippi River at St. Paul (STPM5)
Also went from less than 50% probabilities for any flooding to at least a 50% chance of Moderate:
Minor: 68% vs. 24% normal
Moderate: 57% vs. 19% normal
Major: 35% vs. 12% normal”

There’s a lot of water in the snowpack which is offset by low soil moisture, little to no frost, and low water levels.