Saugers

[TNBronzeback]

Been trying a new section of river the past 2 weekends and its been working out pretty well for me so far. Learned quite about saugers and what they like/dont like in regards to habitat and fishing techniques. Oddly enough i havent found a bait "too big" for them yet. I rarely ever use any kind of live bait when im jigging the river but i decided i would get some shiners and try a few other methods. These shiners were BIG...i had to modify my stinger hooks but them little suckers still inhaled them!
over the past 2 weekends, ive boated 30+ saugers...brought home 9 keepers and a bonus 2lb + walleye today. Hung and lost several heavy fish too. Both trips out, hit the water at sun up....fish were spotty and scattered until about 10 both days then it was like a switch flipped. I dont know if they just showed up or decided on a late breakfast or what but they were hitting good. Still plenty of short strikers as usual sauger fishing goes, but i think with a little more tweaking of my stinger, that should fix that. The fish today came from a small, small little stretch of water maybe 50 yards long. Upriver=no fish, down river=no fish if i was to close too the bank or too far from it=no fish. Kinda crazy! the depth was all the same and the bottom content at least all felt the same....just a smooth gravel bottom.
But if you got on just the right drift...SMACK!
Love my river fishin'

[wormdunker]

Cool! glad you have found them out there.

[TNBronzeback]

Thanks! i am too! ive scoured miles of that river countless times to come home empty handed. I really owe alot of it though to the Navionics phone app. Without that thing, i would still be dragging jigs across the wastelands of the cumberland coming home empty handed. Lol

[Alphahawk]

They are a tough fish to crack. I have only rarely intentionally fished for them. I used to live in West TN and would be on the catwalk below Pickwick Dam at night watching the sauger guys fish for them. I decided I was going to get into it and give them a try. To this day I have never caught a sauger when that was what I was targeting. I have caught them by accident while crappie fishing or trout fishing. One night down there I was walking the sidewalk below the dam with a spotlight shining into the clear water to see what was in there. What I saw was literally hundreds of sauger.....how many did I catch that night?....not a one......LOL. Glad you are having success with them.

Regards

[TNBronzeback]

it amazes me where ive caught some of those fish. Some have been DEEP, like over 50ft. I would think with the river being of some shade of stained color all the time, and cold in the winter like this, i guess i never would have figured them fish to be that deep. Ive caught walleyes in 70ft before, but that was mid summer, high skies and super clear water.
Not all the fish i have caught have been square on bottom either, some have been 5-7ft off bottom. they like the jig just tickling the bottom or they wont bite, but they will drill a blade bait snapped 12-16" off bottom. Pretty interesting.
I i had an experience similar to yours Alpha below Old Hickory dam about 10 years ago, minus the light in the water. The fish were tight to the rip rap and were packed within the lock area, those fish would chase your bait to the very very waters edge, so much so they would splash the surface right before you pulled your lure out.

[tsuggs]

nice job,man thats a good eatn fish!!

[bfish]

Just trying to pattern them here in East TN....

Did you notice a change in generation around 10 or do you think it was a sunshine thing?

[TNBronzeback]

Just trying to pattern them here in East TN....

Did you notice a change in generation around 10 or do you think it was a sunshine thing?

I dont think they changed the generation on Cordell Hull or Old Hickory all day yesterday or last weekend, at least i didnt notice if they did.
I think it was a combination of the clouds and the rain/dropping pressure system that got them fish moving and eating. Jig/Plastic color hasnt seemed to be a big factor for me yet either. The water was clearer this weekend than last and both trips i used an array of colors just to test the waters. So far nothing has lead me to believe they are showing any favor to one color over the other. And i got fish on both artificials and live bait.
I have fished first light to last light both days and i found the fish at a consistent depth all day on both trips. Maybe if i was there before sun up and after sun down, that may have changed, but with the lumber floating down the river i didnt want to risk damage by staying after dark. I will however try that though and see what i can come up with.

[Halli]

but with the lumber floating down the river i didnt want to risk damage by staying after dark.

Yeah, I crossed the Old Hickory Bridge and the water is in the trees
looks like full release going on. Be safe out there Brother.

[TNBronzeback]

Yeah, I crossed the Old Hickory Bridge and the water is in the trees
looks like full release going on. Be safe out there Brother.

Thanks Halli...will do.
Hopefully things will be leveled out and steady come this weekend.