OH dam fishing 2-1-2012

[agelesssone]

Two sauger from below OH dam 2-04-2012

Caught between 5-6 PM. 3/8 oz jig with ringworm trailer, watermelon/orange tail 4 "

two saugers.jpg (http://www.fishingtn.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1635&stc=1&d=1328447432)

[Fishaholic]

very nice:D

[Travis C.]

One of these days I will actually keep one and try them. I hear they are pretty good.

[agelesssone]

My wife and my 2 1/2 year old daughter love sauger.

The baby ate a whole filet from one of them last night.

[ALANRAYG2]

One of these days I will actually keep one and try them. I hear they are pretty good.
They are the best eating fish that swims in Tennessee. I would compare them to walleye. I will never throw a keeper back .....unless I already have my limit!!!!
They are awesome broiled.

[txnative]

I second ALANRAYG2. If I catch a keeper sauger or walleye, the only release they get is into a frying pan! Their smaller cousin, the yellow perch, suffered the same fate when I was in Wisconsin last summer. We made a meal of yellow perch, hush puppies, and pinto beans...durn fine eatin' if ya ask me.


Chris

[agelesssone]

Those three are my favorite eating fish. Walleye, perch (which I really, really like) and sauger.

The rest are ok.

Here's a thought.... last night we cooked some drum just to see what it was like. The baby loved it, ate both filets off of a small one. I only had one bite because the filets were so small. I thought it had the texture of, are you ready? Octopus! It was a very chewy, solid meat. The flavor was good, probably because of the coating the wife makes. But the daughter (2 1/2 y o scarfed down both small filets and then wanted a whole filet off of a sauger.

We're glad to see her eat fish, because she's not a meat and veggie girl.

[Tennesseejugger]

I just love how you guys are all about eating keeper Sauger, Walleye, but you will give anyone else a fit if they keep a keeper striper or two! LMAO!

[bd-]

No, I think you missed the point. Even I keep a striper or two. I just don't keep every. single. one. like some folks do, and I encourage people to keep a smaller one for the table and let the larger ones with trophy potential go.

Nobody's trying to create a trophy sauger or crappie fishery in TN. It's a different ballgame than stripers.

bd

[Tennesseejugger]

No, I think you missed the point. Even I keep a striper or two. I just don't keep every. single. one. like some folks do, and I encourage people to keep a smaller one for the table and let the larger ones with trophy potential go.

Nobody's trying to create a trophy sauger or crappie fishery in TN. It's a different ballgame than stripers.

bd
No I understand what you are saying, so you are saying that there are no such thing of a trophy wally? And that are no such thing of people that want to protect them by CPR? Just saying! Its just I have read on here that some stated they will keep all the legal size Wally's, Sauger that they can get their hands on! Why not CPR the bigger ones like you do the stripers? Just sounds like double standards to me!

[txnative]

If I catch a walleye it sauger, it is usually an "accident." I don't target them except during one season a year, and if I catch a trophy (10+ lb walleye, or 5+ lb sauger) it's going back, but not because I think it's the "right" thing to do, but because smaller specimens taste better.

Walleye and sauger are highly touted table fare, and are capable of reproducing successfully enough to sustain their populations...striper are neither. Stripers are prized for their size and fight here in TN, which is why releasing big ones is advantageous over eating them. The smaller, more numerous stripers are fine to eat as they taste ok. I don't care for them compared to walleye/sauger/crappie, so I don't eat them. The bigger stripers, though, deserve a different standard. Just like largemouth, keeping a few smaller (but legal) bass for the table is not hurting anything, but taking home every 7+ lber is something most bass guys would frown at.

Feel free to eat the smaller ones, but leave the trophies for everyone to enjoy.


Chris

[Tennesseejugger]

If I catch a walleye it sauger, it is usually an "accident." I don't target them except during one season a year, and if I catch a trophy (10+ lb walleye, or 5+ lb sauger) it's going back, but not because I think it's the "right" thing to do, but because smaller specimens taste better.

Walleye and sauger are highly touted table fare, and are capable of reproducing successfully enough to sustain their populations...striper are neither. Stripers are prized for their size and fight here in TN, which is why releasing big ones is advantageous over eating them. The smaller, more numerous stripers are fine to eat as they taste ok. I don't care for them compared to walleye/sauger/crappie, so I don't eat them. The bigger stripers, though, deserve a different standard. Just like largemouth, keeping a few smaller (but legal) bass for the table is not hurting anything, but taking home every 7+ lber is something most bass guys would frown at.

Feel free to eat the smaller ones, but leave the trophies for everyone to enjoy.


Chris I am an avid Bass angler and I catch and release all bass that I catch no matter what size they are. Bass mulitiply very fast and if the fry are able to evade a would be predator then they too will be caught ant released. So I guess I can understand where you all are comming from with respect to the Stripers.

[TNtransplant08]

Ditto on the Yellow Perch! Just thinking about the Friday night fish frys with beer battered fried perch, german potato salad, coleslaw, and rye bread back in Wisconsin, along with ice cold beer just make me drool. Yellow Perch is probably #1 on my list for eating, with Walleye/Sauger #2, and Bluegill #3.

Speaking of Yellow Perch, are there any places in middle Tennessee where you can catch them?

[txnative]

Melton hill is the ony place I know yellow perch live in fishable numbers. They should be near the reactor bend area this time of year. Search for info on the web about reports, techniques used, etc.


Chris

[tkwalker]

No I understand what you are saying, so you are saying that there are no such thing of a trophy wally? And that are no such thing of people that want to protect them by CPR? Just saying! Its just I have read on here that some stated they will keep all the legal size Wally's, Sauger that they can get their hands on! Why not CPR the bigger ones like you do the stripers? Just sounds like double standards to me!

FYI ... The world record Walleye was caught in OHL (25.0 pounds) in 1960 by Mabrey Harper who was cat fishing ... His Nephew who worked for me for the past twenty years before I retired partook of this fine table fare with other fish at a big church fish fry the following day ... Now remember in the late 50's around 58 I think ... I remember when the OHD went into service and the Cumberland River started backing up. My Dad and I watched a river barge breach Lock 4 before it was totally submerged ... For a 12 year old kid that was quite a sight !!! ... There has been pros and cons about the locks and then later the dams ... We use to have giant 12 to 15 Sturgen swim these waters ... But when the locks and dams came they could not migrate and they are no more ...

I know for a fact TWRA messed up in the past with the wrong strain of Eyes that did not do well ... But in the past 20 years they have introduced a special strain from northern waters that have done great ... mostly introduced to Center Hill and The Hollow ... The river will maintain naturally ... My wife's personal best on Center Hill is a 10.5 LB EYE .... You noticed I said my wife @*&*^#$#^*(*^$#$^^# !!!... (At first I thought she was hung and then I thought she had a cat ... Just a dead pull ... But when the eye got close to the surface World War III started ... If I hadn't had my 3 foot Musky net that I used on Stripers there would have been no way this fish would have seen the inside of my boat !!! .... THEY DON'T LIKE LIGHT !!! By the way ... We steaked it out and ate great walley all winter . !!! <'TK>< ;)

[agelesssone]

Fished below Old Hickory dam tonight til about 8 PM. Caught a couple of white bass, three short (14 1/2 inchers) sauger, and one nice 19 inch walleye. The hits came close to the shore, not in deep water.

The wally and two sauger came on 1/4 oz jig with chartreuse and white twister tail. One sauger caught on 4" white minnow jerkbait.

The walleye will be released to the grease tomorrow night.

[StriperFan]

Fished below Old Hickory dam tonight til about 8 PM. Caught a couple of white bass, three short (14 1/2 inchers) sauger, and one nice 19 inch walleye. The hits came close to the shore, not in deep water.

The wally and two sauger came on 1/4 oz jig with chartreuse and white twister tail. One sauger caught on 4" white minnow jerkbait.

The walleye will be released to the grease tomorrow night.

Spring is coming early, I need to be getting below one of these dam's. With the steady generation that has been going on this year, a lot of fish must be moving upstream. Congrats on the fish..

[agelesssone]

I talked to a fella in a boat that fishes the river almost daily. He fished below OH yesterday from 9 AM to 7:30 PM. He didn't boat a keeper sauger/walleye/saugeye all day.

He fished from the gates to 1/2 mile downstream to Mansker creek. Only caught cigars, white bass, etc.

Another person sent me a photo of his catch from below Cordell Hull and they had 24 FAT saugers laid out on a table. Soooo, where's our sauger??