Kayak fishing in pool 2 Mississippi river

[Pogues2300]

Wondering where a good place to launch my new pedal kayak in early spring. Are people already open water fishing in certain areas yet? Tried finding info on what the average ice out is but didn't see lakes in pool 2 listed on the Minnesota dnr ice out map. 

[Scott F]

Knowing what part of the country you are in might help.

[MN Fisher]

11 minutes ago, Scott F said:

Knowing what part of the country you are in might help.

He's up by me - Pool 2 is the stretch between the Ford Dam in Minneapolis and the dam at Hastings.

 

I'm not familiar with it though - so that's all the help I can give.

22 minutes ago, Pogues2300 said:

Wondering where a good place to launch my new pedal kayak in early spring. Are people already open water fishing in certain areas yet? Tried finding info on what the average ice out is but didn't see lakes in pool 2 listed on the Minnesota dnr ice out map. 

Just pay attention to where you are if you're going after Bass - not all that stretch is considered 'Border Water' with Wisconsin. North of the Prescott Bridge is considered 'Inland Water' and the season doesn't open until May 9.

Page 63: https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/rlp/regulations/fishing/fishing_regs.pdf

 

 

[Pogues2300]

Thanks, yes I'm after bass, anxious to try new gear anywhere until lakes open up in Wisconsin. I live in Bloomington so ill double check the dnr regs to see what's close. Trying to get a general idea when its typically fishable from a kayak. 

[MN Fisher]

1 minute ago, Pogues2300 said:

Thanks, yes I'm after bass, anxious to try new gear anywhere until lakes open up in Wisconsin. I live in Bloomington so ill double check the dnr regs to see what's close. 

On the river south of the Prescott Bridge, or the St. Croix River in the Hastings/Prescott area and north to maybe Lake St Croix in Hudson would be the closest to you. Everything else in the area is closed to Bass until May 9.

 

[MN Fisher]

Closer look after a PM, and Pool 2 IS open year round for C&R.

 

Hey @FryDog62 , @gimruis - how much you guys know about the bass fishing in Pool 2?

[FryDog62]

2 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

Closer look after a PM, and Pool 2 IS open year round for C&R.

 

Hey @FryDog62 , @gimruis - how much you guys know about the bass fishing in Pool 2?

I hear there are some LMB and smb but more common to catch in the summer months.  Mostly only walleye in winter/spring.

[gim]

Pool 2 and 4 are open year round. Pool 2 is catch and release only all the time. Not sure about pool 3. Pool 4 is open year round and has specific harvest regulations. There is a very dedicated group of anglers that basically fishes pool 2 all year round. Some of them do quite well. I’ve seen photos of 9+ pound walleyes in recent weeks. I don’t think many people target bass this time of year but certainly later on as the water levels stabilize and the temps warm up.

 

I’ve personally never fished pool 2 or 3. I have fished pool 4 a handful of times near the dam and on a nice day in late March or April it can be bumper boats. The idea of using my own boat in a potentially swift river with unknown depths and other underwater structures like wing dams kinda deters me.

Here is some info on pool 2 that may be useful.

 

https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/areas/fisheries/eastmetro/rivers/pool2.html

[Pogues2300]

Cool thanks everyone. The main piece of info I'm looking for is where to park and launch a kayak, and what's the average date ice is no longer an issue.