Sauger
 

Some of the guys are going to try going after sauger in about a week and a half - we're all sauger novices. I would appreciate some advice on locations; I've heard the bite around Clifton is slow and that GSP is gunnel to gunnel. How about the Cumberland upstream from Old Hickory? I'm all ears.

"The river has many bends in the channel and has a lot of rock and sand bars. The lake contours in this area have a lot of depth changes and this also makes for a great Sauger habitat. The depth changes on the contours are where the staging effect comes into play. One of the easiest ways to remember the staging effect is October=28, November=30-35, December=38-40, January=40-60 and February=15-22. The numbers represent a good depth to start looking for Sauger during this particular time of year. These numbers were based on accurate records that I have kept over the years. After awhile I started noticing depths relating to water temperatures which in turn represented the time of year. Although these numbers are not always true, you can put about an 85% trust in them. You are probably wondering about the February numbers??? We will get to that later in the article!"


Here is some good information posted in another site. Fish out in front of the mouths of any of the creeks that feed into the river and look for the water depths mentioned above.



And good luck. They haven't been very plentiful this year.....at least not for me.

I dont know how far you want to drive but below the dam at Pickwick is some great sauger fishing.



Regards