Deeper in Winter, Deeper in Prespawn

Sauger have such light-sensitive eyes that they not only prefer deep, murky environments, but also actually avoid shallower, clearer water, except perhaps during low-light periods. Their tubular-shaped (cross-section) bodies also are better designed for holding tight to bottom in faster water than are the pear-shaped bodies of their close cousin, the walleye. When you find the two together, as is common in many big-river environments, sauger tend to be located deeper, in swifter current; walleyes shallower, more associated with visible current breaks. Typically, the walleye zone on big rivers extends down to about 18 feet, and the sauger zone up to about 12. Thus some overlap occurs, and both species are caught in the same areas on the same presentations.

Location

In big-river environments during late fall and winter, massive concentrations of sauger collect in the first few miles below large power dams, providing outstanding open-water fisheries throughout winter. Many fish are drawn upriver to the main deep scour hole immediately beneath the dam, where they associate with comfortable current levels somewhere within or along the rim of the hole at depths down to perhaps 50 feet.

Many fish also relate to somewhat shallower spots slightly downriver from the immediate tailrace, typified by current breaks in the main channel. These may occur around visible objects like bridge pilings, riprap shorelines, or natural points extending into the river. Or they may be more subtle, like midriver humps, holes formed along outside channel bends or tributary intersections, or even slight current breaks along the main basin of the channel that are formed by rolling sand bottom, minor dips and rises, or slight holes. The shared characteristic is fairly deep water with some current, not roaring, but not necessarily subtle or absent, either. Not much reduction in flow is needed to attract and hold bottom-hugging sauger.

In modestly large rivers where good populations of sauger relate to downriver wintering holes formed at channel bends, sauger may remain within the vicinities of holes at spawning time, rather than moving all the way upstream to the dam. This is particularly true if holes have nearby spawning flats of mixed rock, gravel, and sand. As water temperature rises near 40°F, sauger shift from the basins up toward the edges of holes, eventually spawning on adjacent 6- to 12-foot gravel flats, once the water reaches 50°F. They not only spawn deeper than walleyes, but also in faster current.

Presentation

Throughout its range, the sauger’s penchant for remaining deep seldom brings it within traditional shallow casting zones, at least during daylight. Most fish are caught on vertical jigging presentations of some sort, with a secondary array of trolling tactics occasionally coming into play.

Exceptions? Admittedly, anglers casting from shore below large power dams catch a fair number of sauger, particularly during low-light conditions when fish move shallower, often toward shore. Those same anglers, however, likely would catch more sauger from a boat, by dangling a vertical offering directly beneath the hull and tapping the bottom. And they’d lose fewer lures. Shorecasting into deep water and bringing a lure back up a craggy, snag-infested riprap slope takes its toll on lost tackle, particularly lures that need to be positioned tight to bottom to catch sauger. Even so, during winter when sauger concentrate below dams, anglers line the riprapped bank, sacrificing a few lures in exchange for the chance to catch fish.

For anglers in boats, sauger fishing can be as simple as lowering a large, heavy jig to bottom and bouncing it along bottom while drifting in the current. Heavy is relative, ranging from 1/4 to 3/8 ounce in shallower modest flows, to 1 ounce or more in powerful, deep, fast flows below major dams on the Ohio or Tennessee Rivers. It seems absurd to use such a large lure for fish that typically average between 3/4 and 11⁄2 pounds, but large lure size doesn’t seem to deter sauger, and it’s weight, not bulk, that’s the essential component.