Skip to main content

WHERE AND HOW TO CATCH SAUGEYE

WHERE AND HOW TO CATCH SAUGEYE

What do you get when you mix a walleye's penchant for growing big with a sauger's fondness for dirty water? The saugeye--a hybrid created by crossing a female walleye with a male sauger. Often confused with their parental species, saugeyes typically have dark brown backs with darker saddle--shaped markings like a sauger, and a white tip on the lower tip of the tail like a walleye. Saugeyes also have a continuous black blotch at the base of the dorsal fin, while sauger have rows of distinct black spots. These mud-loving fish are gaining popularity with fishery managers looking for stocking options and anglers seeking fast action and big fish. Here's a look at where and how to catch saugeye

Tackle

Rod: 6- to 7 1/2-foot fast-action spinning rod.

Reel: medium-capacity spinning reel with a long-casting spool.


Line: 8- to 12-pound-test mono.

Location

Saugeye are more tolerant of warm water than walleyes, and are particularly suited to life in turbid reservoirs. While they usually don't reproduce with another saugeye, they are not a sterile hybrid and are capable of reproducing with either parent stock. Saugeyes often run upriver in winter and spring, stacking in tailwaters below dams. As the water warms in late spring, many disperse back downstream into shallow, turbid reservoirs. In muddy reservoirs without much current, riprap areas along the face of the lower dam may attract and concentrate spawning saugeyes when the water temperature reaches the mid-40F to mid-50F range. Later in the season, prominent structures meeting the old river channel are key spots. Focus on the drop-off edge, but don't be afraid to fish shallow flats, particularly if the water's muddy.


Presentation

Most classic walleye rigs and presentations work for saugeyes, but jigs tipped with livebait are particularly effective. Starting at ice-out, drift minnow-tipped jigs close to the bottom. Like saugers, saugeyes often ignore a bait presented more than a few inches off the bottom, so use enough weight to maintain bottom contact. As fish move into their summer locations, drift jigs tipped with a piece of night crawler across rocky points and reefs. Numbers of fish have been caught by trolling crankbaits around points above the thermocline. In other regions, shorecasting weighted minnowbaits just before dark has produced enough state-record-class fish to quickly become the favorite big-fish technique.




GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.

Recommended Articles

Recent Videos

Pro bass angler Keith Combs talks about how he employs a buzzbait during various parts of the spawn. It's one of his fav...
Learn

In-Fisherman TV: Tarpon and Redfish Gear, Tips and Techniques with Doug Stange

Pro bass angler Keith Combs talks about how he employs a buzzbait during various parts of the spawn. It's one of his fav...
Learn

In-Fisherman TV: HUGE Lake Sturgeon on Lake St. Clair

Pro bass angler Keith Combs talks about how he employs a buzzbait during various parts of the spawn. It's one of his fav...
Learn

In-Fisherman TV Springtime Smallmouth SlamFest

Pro bass angler Keith Combs talks about how he employs a buzzbait during various parts of the spawn. It's one of his fav...
Learn

Choose the Right Hooks for Your Harness Rigs and CATCH MORE FISH

Pro bass angler Keith Combs talks about how he employs a buzzbait during various parts of the spawn. It's one of his fav...
Learn

Andy Montgomery's Strike King Skipping Buzzbait

Pro bass angler Keith Combs talks about how he employs a buzzbait during various parts of the spawn. It's one of his fav...
Learn

Lew's Signature Series Bladed Jig Rod with Andy Montgomery

Pro bass angler Keith Combs talks about how he employs a buzzbait during various parts of the spawn. It's one of his fav...
Learn

Hide Your Line--Camo Trick for Fishing Line with Bryant Smith

Pro bass angler Keith Combs talks about how he employs a buzzbait during various parts of the spawn. It's one of his fav...
Learn

Pick the RIGHT Buzzbait Trailers with Andy Montgomery

Pro bass angler Keith Combs talks about how he employs a buzzbait during various parts of the spawn. It's one of his fav...
Learn

The Strike King KVD Popping Perch is AWESOME with Bryant Smith

Pro bass angler Keith Combs talks about how he employs a buzzbait during various parts of the spawn. It's one of his fav...
Learn

When to Fish a BIG JIG for Bass with Greg Hackney

Pro bass angler Keith Combs talks about how he employs a buzzbait during various parts of the spawn. It's one of his fav...
Learn

The BEST Way to Trim A Jig Skirt with Greg Hackney

Pro bass angler Keith Combs talks about how he employs a buzzbait during various parts of the spawn. It's one of his fav...
Learn

Prespawn Buzzbaits for BIG Largemouth Bass with Keith Combs

In-Fisherman Magazine Covers Print and Tablet Versions

GET THE MAGAZINE Subscribe & Save

Digital Now Included!

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Give a Gift   |   Subscriber Services

PREVIEW THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

Buy Digital Single Issues

Magazine App Logo

Don't miss an issue.
Buy single digital issue for your phone or tablet.

Buy Single Digital Issue on the In-Fisherman App

Other Magazines

See All Other Magazines

Special Interest Magazines

See All Special Interest Magazines

Phone Icon

Get Digital Access.

All In-Fisherman subscribers now have digital access to their magazine content. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets.

To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine.

Get Digital Access

Not a Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Enjoying What You're Reading?

Get a Full Year
of Guns & Ammo
& Digital Access.

Offer only for new subscribers.

Subscribe Now