# Sauger info from KY biologist



## jastew (Nov 18, 2011)

All,
I asked KY's Ohio River bioligist about the sauger (or lack of rather). He wrote me back a very detailed email which was much appreciated. Thought I'd share it. 

John,


I&#8217;ll be honest: you&#8217;re not the first person I&#8217;ve heard this from this year, and I&#8217;m sure you won&#8217;t be the last. I&#8217;ve heard from sauger rookies, and I&#8217;ve heard it from seasoned veterans. Additionally, Ohio DNR sampled Greenup tailwaters and Meldahl tailwaters just a few weeks ago, and numbers were the lowest they had been in years. Fish in large rivers are notoriously cyclic in numbers, but having a huge down year like this does concern me a bit. We were scheduled to go take a look at things this week, but the rain and high water stopped those plans.



A few things I have seen this year while on the river:

1) Sauger got a great spawn off earlier this year. While sampling embayment on Meldahl and Markland pools (Craigs Creek, Big Turtle Creek, Bracken Creek, etc.) this October, my crew sample hundreds to thousands of young-of-year sauger.

2) Contrary to popular belief this year, the shad ARE there. At times during our fall samples on the rivers, shad blanketed the surface.

3) Tailwater samples for most fish have been pretty poor. While gillnetting for Asian carp with the commercial fishermen below Greenup Dam, very few fish (of any species) were caught. My best thoughts on this are due to poor flows while we were sampling.

4) I have gotten a few reports of angler having better luck at the mouths of tributaries rather than up at the dam in the early season. If you&#8217;re willing to give it a try, take a look at the mouths Brush Creek and Kinniconick Creek as well as the small gravel and sand bars below those two tribuatries (good striper bites in those locations as well).



Based on what I&#8217;ve heard from Ohio and multiple fishermen, I have no doubt that the numbers are down, but here are a few things to keep in mind on why that may be this year:

1) As I&#8217;m sure you know the sauger bite (and therefore spawning run) is nowhere near its peak yet.

2) Often times rising water tends to push fish upriver whereas falling water triggers fish to pull back downriver. Until this past weekend we have not had any significant rises in the river during what we consider to be the sauger bite (Late November &#8211; April). Hopefully, this slug of water will push some fish up to the dams for you.

3) High water in 2011 affected many fish species in the Ohio Valley. Not only did it likely impact newly spawned sauger, but it likely also caused decreased survival of age-1 and possibly age-2 fish. Those fish that would now be harvest size may have been impacted by high water. If that&#8217;s the case, next year may also be a sub-par year (I hope not.)

4) Although we did not have a very hot summer, a mild all and early winter caused water temperatures on the Ohio River to remain elevated for slightly longer than normal. Temperature is also a cue for sauger movement and may be playing a role in low catch rates for the early season bite. Temperatures are where they should be now and will continue to fall. Hopefully increased numbers of sauger will be the result.



I wish I had the one and only correct answer for you, but the beautiful thing about riverine systems is that they&#8217;re always changing and new problems and solutions always arise. As soon as I get out on the river to take a look at sauger, I&#8217;ll send you some information on what we saw. If I can help you out in any way, feel free to email or call. Thanks for your interest and concern for one of the state&#8217;s best fisheries.



Cheers,



Jay Herrala

Fisheries Research Biologist

Big Rivers Branch

Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources

#1 Sportsman's Lane 

Frankfort, KY 40601


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## Shortdrift (Apr 5, 2004)

Now that is what I call a comprehensive and helpful response. Thanks for sharing and possibly helping others understand the many variables involve.


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## kycreek (May 31, 2006)

Hat's off to Jay for that response. Good read. Maybe it will get better!!!!


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## look111 (May 3, 2012)

just wanted to also thank you for sharing. that was a very detailed answer and greatly appreciated. just earlier today I talked to a buddy who said he was thinking seriously about trying out green up dam tomorrow. i'll check with him tomorrow to see if any have moved up. please let Mr. Herrala know his response was appreciated.


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## throbak (Jul 8, 2012)

Jays a stand up guy he has taken the time to answer all my ?? and I have had a lot , I was one of the others asking about sauger. My hat is always off to him


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## Thompy04 (Jan 26, 2013)

Good read. I'm thinkin' the deepest catfish holes hold em' at the mouths right now?


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## colonel594 (Aug 31, 2012)

Appreciate you posting that! It's a good view on A lot of angles. I personally feel that the water level has a lot to do with it... We simply have not had the high water with abt consistency this year.. And when it has been high it has been for very short periods quickly followed by fast falling water. 

Up here around new Cumberland I have noticed that it really seems to be best when the water is high and stays high long enough to A.) push the fish into areas we are used to finding them and B.) it has time to clear a bit. 

It's a game changer! They are in there... We just gotta stop trying to find them "where they should be" and think outta the box to locate new holes!


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## GMR_Guy (Apr 10, 2004)

Thanks for posting this information and special thanks to Mr. Herrala for taking the time to respond to your questions. It's obvious from his answer that he cares about your (and our) concerns and has an excellent knowledge about the subject.


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## multi species angler (Feb 20, 2006)

Well the shad better come up river with the sauger or they won't have much to eat. As much time as I spend on the river I can tell you without a doubt there isn't near the amount of baitfish at the dams as in years past. It also told me something when I filleted a 15 in sauger a week or so ago that didn't have any shad or river shiners in it"s stomach but it did have a sauger or walleye about 5" long in it.


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