# Little help



## CamdenGizzard (Apr 6, 2005)

I recently fished an inland lake for saugeye... I trolled for 5 hrs catching 4 big catfish and 1 crappie but no saugeye. I know there are some nice saugeye in there. 

The facts.

I fished both a erie deary tipped with a minnow and a crawler harness tipped with a crawler...

I honestly fished the entire lake and at varied depths. 

I stayed consistent at 1-1.5 mph.....

Should I switch it up and use something like a crank? if so what type?

any other advice would be great....

thanks


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## misfit (Apr 5, 2004)

the name of the lake might help.all lakes are not created equal.though a saugeye is a saugeye,there sometimes are different patterns for different waters.
harnesses should be working by now,but cranks are still catching plenty of fish.casting jigs is good now too.
try shadraps at 2-3 mph in depths under 8 feet.points and other structure should hold fish,but flats can as well.bottom composition makes a difference also.rock or gravel is preferred.l;astly,make sure your bait is working the bottom foot or two of the water column.


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## NorthSouthOhioFisherman (May 7, 2007)

Just a guess that he was fishing acton or lakengren

(Near camden ohio )


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## st.slippy (Oct 3, 2008)

I second what misfit has to say. Saugeye are similar to sauger in that they bite on bottom or within a foot or two of the bottom. You can troll a lot of different types of lures. If you just want an inexpensive lure to drag if you are not familiar with the depths and bottom I will often use 2 jig and twisters about 12-15 inches apart and wait till my pole bounces from the bottom twister hitting the bottom, then reel up just a little. I normally tip mine with 1/3 to 1/2 a nightcrawler. This is nice because once you find them if you want to stop and cast you don't need to change your lure. Just cast the same thing. It works for me. I've never caught them on an erie deerie tried before I understood them, then never went back


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## larryfish (Apr 26, 2004)

I like to pull cranks such as walleye divers, hotntots, little rippers, shad raps & etc.... I use 20# Power Pro and 18# lead core with a 20 # Fireline leader. When snagged this allows me to straighten my hooks most the time and save my crank. Maintaining bottom contact is key! They like it ricocheting off the structure, bottom and such. 

Don't be afraid to kick up your speed either. If I am hitting cats & sheephead, I'll hammer down and book along at 3.0 - 3.5 m.p.h. This also allows you to cover LOTS of water. When you hit a saugeye spin around an go right back through the same area. 

Good luck!


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## Saildog (Aug 2, 2004)

If your lure is not in the bottom 18" of the water column, you're not saugeye fishing. Shad Raps (large ones...size 5+) work well when the water warms. Troll at 2 MPH or more and have enough line out to feel the lure tick the bottom. On many of our inland lakes this means almost constant adjustment of how much line you have out. You want the lip of the Shad Rap to tick the bottom occasionally, but not to plow into it all of the time. You will be amazed at how many 9" s'eyes will attack a number 7 Shad Rap. 

Bottom bouncers and crawlers harnesses are another good tactic, but often catch (for me) small s'eyes. Speed will depend on the size and shape of the blade. Heavy (3 oz) bouncers are typically needed as you get closer to 2 MPH. 

The main thing is to forget about walleye stuff. Saugeyes behave a hell of a lot more like a sauger than a walleye. And s'eyes are a nutty fish. They will be in 3 FOW one day and 17 the next....but on the bottom 99% of the time.


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## CamdenGizzard (Apr 6, 2005)

You guys are awesome and your tactics have paid off on the last few saugeye trips I have taken. see my post in the southwest forums. I'm gonna go back to trollin' when I get some gear for it. I bought some cranks but they don't dive deep enough.....

and yes nsof Acton....


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