In rivers, sauger may bite best early or late in the day--even more so than walleyes. River fish may also bite best on cloudy, rainy, windy days. Nasty weather is more likely to positively affect the bite than it does with walleyes.
In rivers, sauger seek heavier current than walleyes. Moving water inhibits light penetration, so sauger tend to hold shallower in significant current, but still not as shallow as walleyes in most cases. An exception involves big sauger which in current tend to locate in spots similar to areas where walleyes feed.
Another distinction of note is body shape. Sauger are slightly more tubular, more streamlined than walleyes. Sauger shape forms more of an even ellipse from head to tail, allowing them to burrow into stronger currents. In more ways than one, sauger are like the smallmouth bass of the walleye world. They fight better, swim faster, and have stronger jaws than walleyes of the same size.
In a telemetry study performed in Tennessee in 1977, sauger tracked through the currents below Cordell Hull Dam always moved closer to shore when discharges increased (to create hydroelectric power during late fall and early winter). When discharges increased to levels greater than normal, fish moved hundreds of yards downstream. But when generation ceased altogether, sauger were tracked crossing the river channel many times and swimming over wide areas. These fish were most often in very turbid water at depths between 8 and 17 feet.
That study concerned tailrace fish and paid little attention to larger sauger. Another telemetry study in Melvern Reservoir, Kansas, in 1992 found sauger deep in the main stem of the reservoir in March. This study tracked some of the largest fish in the system. "We implanted 20 sauger," says Don Gablehouse, biologist for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. "Larger sauger never seemed to locate in significantly different areas than smaller fish."
Neither study noted the movements of walleye in the same area, but other biologists have observed differences in alleged "comfort zones." Al Stevens, large-lake specialist for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, has for years watched sauger and walleye movements in the Mississippi River. "I've also fished year 'round for sauger and walleye in this system," Stevens says. "In Lake Pepin, more sauger than walleye are caught at midday. When the sun goes down, the bite's over for sauger, while walleyes continue to be caught after dark."
From late spring through fall, Pepin's walleyes are typically in 2 to 10 feet of water. "They're even there at noon, inactive, lying on bottom," Stevens says. "But sauger will be 15 to 20 feet down at the head of the lake, which is more turbid, and 20 to 25 feet down in the clearer tail of the lake. Even 4- to 5-pound sauger are captured in these depths."
Riverine environments (rivers, reservoirs, and lakes within river systems) are the most common homes of sauger and saugeye. From the St. Lawrence River to the upper reaches of the Missouri River in Montana, these environments are where the Stizostedion clan do best in combination--where you should always be able to find one, two, or all three biting some time, every day of the year. But the best places to key on right now (late winter) are tailraces and main basins of reservoirs.
SPECIALIZED LOCATION
The fishing experiences of at least two top anglers contrast with the scientific characterization of where big sauger hold. "Do big sauger use different areas than walleyes or smaller sauger use?" asked In-Fisherman Editor-In-Chief Doug Stange. "My experience is that especially in rivers, big sauger segregate from small sauger and tend to use the same areas walleyes use, with subtle differences.
