# saugeye facts



## killingtime (Apr 29, 2009)

anybody know where to find when and where saugeye were first stock in ohio waterways.


----------



## RiPpInLiPs614 (Feb 18, 2011)

I tried looking, couldnt find a thing


----------



## linebacker43 (Aug 3, 2009)

dont quote me on this but I thought I heard it was down at Deer Creek Lake sometime in the late 70's early 80's. Not 100% but just what I have heard from some old timers before.

Linebacker43


----------



## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

Call ODNR. 

posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


----------



## dstiner86 (Jun 5, 2012)

Googled it too..only thing i came up with that had an actual date was Indian lake in early 80s

posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


----------



## Mushijobah (May 4, 2004)

Unfortunately it's only availbe by request. Not sure why they don't make it public. Best bet would be to e-mail and ask for a PDF document of the 2005-2012 stockings or something of the sort.


----------



## killingtime (Apr 29, 2009)

the only reason i asked was because i was telling a guy that i was catching them in the miami river in the tipp city-troy ohio area in the early to mid 80s and i dont think he believed me so i was just wanting to find something to back up my story. i really shouldnt have to because i was there and i know what i caught but i thought a little confirmation would be nice. i waded the miami river all the time when i was a kid because i could walk there from my house and i would take a handfull of twister tails and jig heads with my zebco 33 outfit and catch smallmouth,rockbass,bluegill, and saugeye like crazy.


----------



## dennis78 (Mar 15, 2012)

try odnr that might help found out that put a lot of blue cats in hoover last on that sight


----------



## Lewis (Apr 5, 2004)

When the ODNR first decided to explore the idea of stocking Saugeyes they had the OSU Bio Sciences people do extensive experimenting in controlled environments like aquaculture ponds,tanks, etc.. The first real effort at stocking was at Pleasant Hill in 1979.


----------



## SoCal_Buckeye (May 28, 2012)

Very cool info... The fact that they did extensive studies prior to stocking then is good to know. I just wish they would evolve and begin to spawn on their own like Walleye or better yet bluegill and crappie. 


Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


----------



## dstiner86 (Jun 5, 2012)

Ill be honest in my quest to find a date it made me really want to go fish for Saugeye lot..never caught one..so yup im on the hunt for them this spring now!

posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


----------



## saugmon (Jun 14, 2006)

killingtime said:


> the only reason i asked was because i was telling a guy that i was catching them in the miami river in the tipp city-troy ohio area in the early to mid 80s and i dont think he believed me so i was just wanting to find something to back up my story. i really shouldnt have to because i was there and i know what i caught but i thought a little confirmation would be nice. i waded the miami river all the time when i was a kid because i could walk there from my house and i would take a handfull of twister tails and jig heads with my zebco 33 outfit and catch smallmouth,rockbass,bluegill, and saugeye like crazy.



Early to mid 80's,I never heard of saugeye. I'd catch a few walleye in miami up closer to indian lake high school early in the season in those early to mid 80's.Indian used to be stocked with walleye,so a lot of them probably went over the spillway.When the state stocked Indian,they stocked the miami river as well.I don't think they stocked anymore saugeye in the miami for quite a few years.

Here's the ehow link on to catching indian lake saugeye.I lmao on the trolling section of finding saugeye clusters on the fish finder and you have to have a boat to reach the 15'-30' where the saugeye cluster up at.

http://www.ehow.com/how_8476641_catch-saugeye-indian-lake-ohio.html

The main thing about the stocking,it turned Indian lake from a joke of a lake to a top notch saugeye fishery that it is today!!!


----------



## killingtime (Apr 29, 2009)

Thanks for the info guys. I contacted odnr today and they are going to gather the data on when and where they were first stocked and how many. May take a few days but I will pass the info along when I get it. I am wanting to know all the lakes data for saugeye so they are going to look it up.


----------



## killingtime (Apr 29, 2009)

I was only about 14-15 years old but I caught a lot of them around 8-14 inches between Troy and tipp city so at that age it was between 1985-88. There were people bringing them in the bait shop in Troy because most people didn't know what they were. I heard they stocked them around the dam in Troy but that's just what I heard but a lot of people were catching them. I was just to young to remember the specifics of the fish just that I was catching a lot of them. Me and my dad was going to paint creek spillway and catching them around this time frame also.


----------



## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

Not to dispute my good friend Lewis on the first location...but...

This information is on the ODNR website in the lake maps area for Deer Creek.

_In 1978, Deer Creek Lake became the first lake in Ohio stocked with saugeye. This successful experiment lead to introductions of saugeye at more than 50 lakes statewide. To catch saugeye, try the dam face and other rip-rapped areas in early spring using imitation minnow baits. Also try the tailwater area below the dam in late fall, winter and early spring about one week after a major water release. Use twister tails tipped with minnows or night crawlers._

I thought I remembered Deer Creek being first. I clearly remember fishing below the dam after the initial stocking and everyone catching the cigar saugeyes on a jig under float. I used to enjoy fishing below deer creek back when there were walleye to be caught prior to the Saugeye stockings. The saugeye fishery in the 80's was fantastic below deer creek.


----------



## linebacker43 (Aug 3, 2009)

Thanks Lundy, proves that my memory and mind aren't slipping just yet! Lol!


----------



## gitarzan (Feb 19, 2012)

Before the successful cross breeding resulting in Saugeye, there were several failures:

Carpeye, Crappeye, Cateyes, and Eyegill. None were deemed successful.










Just a joke...


----------



## hang_loose (Apr 2, 2008)

gitarzan said:


> Before the successful cross breeding resulting in Saugeye, there were several failures:
> 
> Carpeye, Crappeye, Cateyes, and Eyegill. None were deemed successful.
> 
> ...


But VinceGill did pretty good.


----------



## CRAPPIECOMMANDER (Feb 25, 2006)

I know they we were catching them in the Scioto/Oshay early to mid 80's and there was an abundance of big fish by the late 80's. I have some old pics from back then when we were some of the few guys targeting them in the Scioto. 


Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


----------



## Lewis (Apr 5, 2004)

You got me Lundy... I was always led to believe that the pilot stocking program started at Pleasant Hill lake in 1979. There are actually a few online articles that still state this. Even Corey believed it to be true. 
Looks like Deer Creek might be the first though....I found this:


The Division of Wildlife&#8217;s first successful saugeye production occurred in 1977 when limited numbers were raised at the Kincaid State Fish Hatchery. In June 1978, the first introduction of saugeye occurred in Deer Creek Lake. Subsequent fish surveys at Deer Creek (pictured left) indicated favorable survival and growth. The success of this inaugural stocking led to the expansion of the saugeye program. Ohio&#8217;s saugeye program has focused on stocking saugeye where walleye introductions have been unsuccessful and where saugeye are more likely to provide a quality fishery. Hatchery saugeye production recent years has been between 6 to 10 million fingerlings per year. In 2004, 8.7 million saugeye fingerlings were stocked into 59 water areas.


----------



## glasseyes (Jan 28, 2012)

Yes Deer creek was the first, I also remember hitting the spillway after work and catching the cigars. I also remember the walleye fishing after the dam was 1st built.


----------



## killingtime (Apr 29, 2009)

ok guys i found the info i was looking for. i went to the dayton daily news archives and looked up the writer jim robeys archives, he was and outdoor writer for the newspaper. there was an article that he had that confirmed that 90,000 fingerling saugeye were stocked in the great miami river near troy ohio in 1984 then in 1987 there was 50.000 stocked
in the same area then in 1990 there was another 90,000 stocked again. this article was writen on january 24 1991 with all this information and in the same article he wrote that besides the miami river being hot for saugeye this time of year paint creek and deer creek were producing very well also. i guess this article just confirmed that i was catching them in the 80s especially since i was only fishing 6-8 miles downstream from where they were being stocked. the odnr is supposed to send and e-mail on saugeye stocking from the 70s and 80s and i will pass it along when i get it.


----------



## twistertail (Apr 10, 2004)

I've never heard of walleye in Deer Creek. Were walleye stocked in the lake after it was built or was there a natural population in the creek? The lake has been there longer than I've been alive so all i've ever known is the saugeye fishing. Might head to the spillway this weekend and try for some saugeyes.


----------

