# Opinions on Saugeye Lures



## Shinji

Well, I've been skimming through some posts, I've watched Troy's fishing expo videos, and I've been looking at my fishing journal entries. Lately, I've been hitting Indian, Hoover, Deer Creek, and Alum Creek for saugeye for about 4 or more hours at a time. I'm catching some eyes but not in the quantities I'm happy with. I'm stuck to shoreline access and I was wondering about certain lures. I typically stick to twister tails, swimbaits, casting spoons, roostertails, and of course, minnows off the bottom. My questions to you saugeye anglers are as follows: are Big Joshys worth the cost? Are there any lures such as blade baits, roadrunners, or crawler harnesses that I should try? Any answers are appreciated. I love these fish and would just like to increase my hookup ratio.


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## crittergitter

I have fished with Big Joshy swimbaits for 2 years now. I have caught large mouth bass, smallmouth bass, rock bass and white bass. I also hooked and failed to land a musky. I have yet to catch a single saugeye.


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## Workingman

I also shore fish and i stick mostly throw swimbaits and husky jerks. Seems like if i tie on a blade bait or like a red eye shad it only gets me a few casts, it snags and im pissed. I've always thought "it's because i'm not in a boat."
My understanding is this time of year, anything that will catch a bass will catch a saugeye. Cold water, different story


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## reyangelo

I like Joshy's and starting to get more Venom's twister tails. I try my best to buy Made in Ohio - USA products and so far, they have not let me down. My go to swims are Joshy's, but I do understand your dilema. I'd have to say buy a couple and go from there. Just this past week I caught ~50 fish (cats and crappies) on one Joshy. But on the flipside, some days I will not get a hit so opt to try different lures. Couple weeks back I was out fishing for Saugeyes, I tried 6 different Joshy colors to no avail. Then I put on a tandem green venom (looks bright green with shiny dark flakes) twister tails using a red jighead...first cast I had a Saugeye and went well the remainder of my time there. Also, when swims are just not doing it I swap to stick lures or similar. I know one guy who catches them plenty and all he uses are creek chubs, so goes to show it depends on presentation and interest of the fish. Regarding roadrunners, these are great on any swim - i have a few and used them sparingly since they are not cheap.

I'd suggest look at your options and sample a few...then go from there. Just like any product, reviews and feedback can provide you a baseline but its a whole different story when you personally experience it. Goodluck.


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## Shinji

Thanks for the input Reyanglo. I haven't had much luck throwing cranks out there and at $4 a pop or more, it's just not a great feeling losing them in the rocks. I've had a lot of luck on Berkley Havoc shad style baits. They're like a cross between a twister and swimbait. Only downside is that they usually need to be swapped out when a fish gets a hold of them. I'll splurge next time I'm up at Indian for Joshys. I also try to buy local or made in USA. I've been grabbing jigheads from Marys Bait shop down by Deer Creek. Nice sharp hooks and great prices.


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## acklac7

From here on out Crankbaits will be money, at least till late October.


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## keithjpoole

Big Joshys are great and account for most of my fish if I'm not trolling.


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## Baloogala

I rarely fish anywhere without some Big Joshys. That said...I've never once caught a saugeye on them (all of my saugeye have been on crankbaits or minnows). Hadn't really thought about it since I catch fish with them (almost exclusively smallmouth).


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## Shinji

So far it looks like Joshys be something I should at least give a try. I looked at their colors and I bet that green glow perch, slims bait, silktreuse and maybe slush would be the best choices. Alum Creek seems to be more of a chrome/pearl with blue place while Indian is the chartreuse lake for me.


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## Baloogala

Shinji said:


> So far it looks like Joshys be something I should at least give a try. I looked at their colors and I bet that green glow perch, slims bait, silktreuse and maybe slush would be the best choices. Alum Creek seems to be more of a chrome/pearl with blue place while Indian is the chartreuse lake for me.


The two I have the best luck on are the clearwater shad and the smoke shad--but I fish very clear water most of the time.


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## Dovans

Joshy's are not expensive considering. You can find them locally at Vances Outdoors and Fishermans warehouse. You also can mail order them and ships quickly. Lime Green, White and dark color of your choice. 2.75 will work fine


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## Baloogala

Dovans said:


> Joshy's are not expensive considering. You can find them locally at Vances Outdoors and Fishermans warehouse. You also can mail order them and ships quickly. Lime Green, White and dark color of your choice. 2.75 will work fine


I agree, the cost isn't much--but get some extra jig heads. Only one comes with them.


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## ristorap

I have a lot of luck with crank baits. I have caught them on $1.00-$3.00 baits that I found on sale and in those boxes of baits that the stores have. I do like the Venom grubs and the Berkley power grubs.


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## Saugeyefisher

Ya you don't need much. But you will always be buying stuff. And yes Joshys are worth the price 100%
Venom an power bait twisters are my favorite as well.


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## BottomBouncer

Black 2.75 joshy


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## Big Joshy

saugeye can go from eating giant shad to tiny bloodworms so you need to be prepared for a wide range of techniques. As im sure you saw in the seminar you sometimes need to tip a jig or underspin jig with a chunk of crawler or even waxworm now through summer. I think with all the bug hatches that begin this time of year they can get keyed on smaller insect type offerings. Especially the smaller saugeye IMO. My last time out i was watching someone catching saugeye in a shallow flat near the back of a main lake pocket. Just casting out a crappie size jig tipped with a waxworm and letting it sit on the bottom. They were not huge but they were saugeye. This was on a day where they were just short striking a steady reeled swimbait. At the same time I have had nights in the fall where they ignore 3 inch baits and crush the 5+ inch jerks and swims. gotta be flexible and change with the seasons, time of day and fish activity levels


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## Shinji

Again, thank you for the replies. I'll be trying some different techniques here soon seeing how I haven't had as much luck. I'm thinking crawler harness, roadrunner with a crawler, and joshys should be my next go to baits. Got to wait till Tuesday when I'm off next though. Lol


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## PALOMAR

Late spring thru late summer this set up has worked several times: slow death type hook with about 3 "' of a gulp nightcrawler behind a 3/8's oz inline sinker and a few colorful beads and a blade.
I like to fan cast/retrieve along bottom of a shallow flat on downwind side of lake. Especially late afternoon on somewhat overcast day with about 5-10 mph wind.


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## steven kovach

Shinji said:


> Well, I've been skimming through some posts, I've watched Troy's fishing expo videos, and I've been looking at my fishing journal entries. Lately, I've been hitting Indian, Hoover, Deer Creek, and Alum Creek for saugeye for about 4 or more hours at a time. I'm catching some eyes but not in the quantities I'm happy with. I'm stuck to shoreline access and I was wondering about certain lures. I typically stick to twister tails, swimbaits, casting spoons, roostertails, and of course, minnows off the bottom. My questions to you saugeye anglers are as follows: are Big Joshys worth the cost? Are there any lures such as blade baits, roadrunners, or crawler harnesses that I should try? Any answers are appreciated. I love these fish and would just like to increase my hookup ratio.


I've done my best with roadrunner tipped with a minnow and flicker shads have not done crap with the big Joshy


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## Saugeyefisher

Fishing from shore at lakes like buckeye and Indian in the summer I 've always thought about casting a slow death an smiley with a pegged bullet weight to keep it down.i guess a small Erie derie would work as well


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## ligg3311

I caught my first one with just a worm on a hook in the alum spillway on Saturday. Is that unusual to get them with just a worm and hook? I'm really new to fishing and learning right now.


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## Saugeyefisher

ligg3311 said:


> I caught my first one with just a worm on a hook in the alum spillway on Saturday. Is that unusual to get them with just a worm and hook? I'm really new to fishing and learning right now.


Nope saugeye LOVE worms


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## PALOMAR

tonight at Hoover BJ 3.25 Solar Flare was the bait the several 14"'s liked. Gentle sloping main lake point. Sprayed some Gulp crawler scent on the bait.
Felt like I had some misses/rejects on the J5.


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## Shinji

Update on lures. I made the decision to try Big Joshys and decided on slims bait. I caught 1 12 inch largemouth and 3 saugeye in a half hour. I'm a believer. Lol Going to try roadrunners again but Big Joshys are definitely a must.


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## Saugeyefisher

Shinji said:


> Update on lures. I made the decision to try Big Joshys and decided on slims bait. I caught 1 12 inch largemouth and 3 saugeye in a half hour. I'm a believer. Lol Going to try roadrunners again but Big Joshys are definitely a must.


Try a big Joshy on a road runner. Best of both worlds


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## steven kovach

Shinji said:


> Update on lures. I made the decision to try Big Joshys and decided on slims bait. I caught 1 12 inch largemouth and 3 saugeye in a half hour. I'm a believer. Lol Going to try roadrunners again but Big Joshys are definitely a must.


I'm not sure I fished today caught 10 bass 4 saugeye 1 crappie all on roadrunner I was also fishing a joshy not 1 fish


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## Saugeyefisher

steven kovach said:


> I'm not sure I fished today caught 10 bass 4 saugeye 1 crappie all on roadrunner I was also fishing a joshy not 1 fish


That sucks good thing you had a road runner


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## BottomBouncer

Sort of on the subject, my two largest saugeye have come on bluegill while fishing for flathead. Both times were around mid may.


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## Bleeding Minnow

Lots of lures can catch frankenfish. My confidence baits: spring - 2.75 joshy, summer - flicker shad 7, fall - 3.25 joshy, winter - suspending rogue


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## USMC-BUCKEYE

crittergitter said:


> I have fished with Big Joshy swimbaits for 2 years now. I have caught large mouth bass, smallmouth bass, rock bass and white bass. I also hooked and failed to land a musky. I have yet to catch a single saugeye.


What?! Have you specifically targeted eyes at all? By now I would think you'd accidentally catch one. 

To answer the original question though, I use joshys as my go to eye lure. Switching colors works a lot of the times. I also use jerk baits but I'm not very good at being patient. I also like Mr. Twisters. Other than that I'll find them randomly in the river on all sorts of other baits; square bills, lipless, senkos and walk the dog lures have all accidentally caught me an eye at one time or another.


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## Shinji

USMC-BUCKEYE said:


> I also like Mr. Twisters. Other than that I'll find them randomly in the river on all sorts of other baits; square bills, lipless, senkos and walk the dog lures have all accidentally caught me an eye at one time or another.


See, that's why I'm hooked on these fish. I'll throw everything at them, they don't hit and I switch to a roostertail and wham...saugeye on. Lol I would also add that floating jigheads and slip bobbers with minnows have caught me plenty of eyes as well. Haven't heard much about crawler harnesses but I'm going to give them a try as well.


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## crittergitter

USMC-BUCKEYE said:


> What?! Have you specifically targeted eyes at all? By now I would think you'd accidentally catch one.
> 
> To answer the original question though, I use joshys as my go to eye lure. Switching colors works a lot of the times. I also use jerk baits but I'm not very good at being patient. I also like Mr. Twisters. Other than that I'll find them randomly in the river on all sorts of other baits; square bills, lipless, senkos and walk the dog lures have all accidentally caught me an eye at one time or another.


Yes, mostly targeting them on wind blown points and flats at Alum Creek. It could be that I only have 2 colors of the 2.75 and 1 color of the smaller one. I may need to expand my stock. I don't know though. I know they work or others wouldn't catch fish with them. Just been tough.

The only thing i've ever caught saugeye on consistently was a plain lead head jig and a bass minnow.


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## CRAPPIECOMMANDER

It's funny this discussion came up, just this week I was having a discussion about what baits would you choose to fish for everything if you could only have 3. Mine were a Joshy, a 3" curly tail, and a RoadRunner. Those that know me well know that I live by the blade, I can't think of very many scenarios when having one on could or would hamper your catch. That being said I think just as important as the lure selection is your presentation. If you're fishing Joshy's or curly tails in a spot where there are hungry saugeye and not getting bites I'd lay my money on the problem being you're fishing them too fast. I see it all the time. I sit in boats with guys using the same lure, line etc. and I catch 3,4, or 5 to 1 or more fish simply because I'm keeping the lure in the strike zone longer. WAY too many guys crank their lures over top of feeding saugeyes and or crank it right past them too fast to get a strike. I've rarely witnessed a time when speeding up my retrieve seemed to be the key, it has happened but normally just with White Bass. Just my 2¢.


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## Saugeyefisher

CRAPPIECOMMANDER said:


> It's funny this discussion came up, just this week I was having a discussion about what baits would you choose to fish for everything if you could only have 3. Mine were a Joshy, a 3" curly tail, and a RoadRunner. Those that know me well know that I live by the blade, I can't think of very many scenarios when having one on could or would hamper your catch. That being said I think just as important as the lure selection is your presentation. If you're fishing Joshy's or curly tails in a spot where there are hungry saugeye and not getting bites I'd lay my money on the problem being you're fishing them too fast. I see it all the time. I sit in boats with guys using the same lure, line etc. and I catch 3,4, or 5 to 1 or more fish simply because I'm keeping the lure in the strike zone longer. WAY too many guys crank their lures over top of feeding saugeyes and or crank it right past them too fast to get a strike. I've rarely witnessed a time when speeding up my retrieve seemed to be the key, it has happened but normally just with White Bass. Just my 2¢.


Great post!!!! Though this time of year when I cast cranks like shad raps I tend to use a pretty fast retrieve but always tossing in quick pauses. But 90% of the time tossing a jig low an slow is the way to go. Right on the bottom!


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## steven kovach

crittergitter said:


> Yes, mostly targeting them on wind blown points and flats at Alum Creek. It could be that I only have 2 colors of the 2.75 and 1 color of the smaller one. I may need to expand my stock. I don't know though. I know they work or others wouldn't catch fish with them. Just been tough.
> 
> The only thing i've ever caught saugeye on consistently was a plain lead head jig and a bass minnow.


Always good to have many baits to choose from but I catch more saugey on roadrunners but I use different color tails my go to is metal flake chartreuse


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## Shinji

Lots of good info guys. I really appreciate the input. Just got back from Alum and we didn't get a saugeye but mr. Smallmouth inhaled the chartreuse grub with a white roadrunner.


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## Saugeyefisher

Shinji said:


> Lots of good info guys. I really appreciate the input. Just got back from Alum and we didn't get a saugeye but mr. Smallmouth inhaled the chartreuse grub with a white roadrunner.


Great smallie! Keep casting the eyes will come!!!


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## steven kovach

Shinji said:


> Lots of good info guys. I really appreciate the input. Just got back from Alum and we didn't get a saugeye but mr. Smallmouth inhaled the chartreuse grub with a white roadrunner.


Find the rocky bottom and the saugey will be there


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## USMC-BUCKEYE

crittergitter said:


> Yes, mostly targeting them on wind blown points and flats at Alum Creek. It could be that I only have 2 colors of the 2.75 and 1 color of the smaller one. I may need to expand my stock. I don't know though. I know they work or others wouldn't catch fish with them. Just been tough.
> 
> The only thing i've ever caught saugeye on consistently was a plain lead head jig and a bass minnow.


I like using the 3.25s with a 1/8 jig. Slims are my favorite color to start with. Followed by solar flare and silktreuce.


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## Shinji

Welp, I've hit Indian on Tuesday and Alum yesterday with no eyes to show for it. Threw joshys, roadrunners, twistertails, spoons, and I even tried floating jigheads with minnows.Tuesday we had current, rocks, overcast skies , and a northwestern wind that blew right through old field. I'm going to try worms in current for them this time and use some Erie Dearies I have left


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## steven kovach

Try trolling flicker shads watch your speed change it up to trigger strikes at Alumcreek we trolled at 1.2 to 1.8 and had some luck about 3 weeks ago that's my go to method when nothing seems to work


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## Shinji

I know trolling is a good method to catching saugeye this time of year bit unfortunately, I'm limited to shoreline fishing. I'll try some worm harnesses in current to see if that maybe catches their attention.


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## ristorap

Throw crank baits, lipless baits, blade baits. Fan cast the area from the bank.


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## Workingman

ristorap said:


> Throw crank baits, lipless baits, blade baits. Fan cast the area from the bank.


Sounds expensive! Haha
I feel like i cant get more than a dozen casts before i get snagged with a lipless or blade! Probably not doing something right!?


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## ristorap

Workingman said:


> Sounds expensive! Haha
> I feel like i cant get more than a dozen casts before i get snagged with a lipless or blade! Probably not doing something right!?


 You don't need the lipless or blade go to the bottom before cranking them in. The cheaper ones work too the fish don't know the price.


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## Saugeyefisher

Workingman said:


> Sounds expensive! Haha
> I feel like i cant get more than a dozen casts before i get snagged with a lipless or blade! Probably not doing something right!?


Ya work em under piles of shad. Burn/stop,burn/stop... or sometimes just burnt back to you.
Usually with braid I get most my snagged vibrating baits back. Takes a lot of practice though.


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## Workingman

Cool, thanks for advice guys, i guess when i think saugeye i always think they are relating to the bottom. I'll give it a try!


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## Shinji

Well, i can confirm, using worm harnesses for saugeye is effective. Caught two dinks when they weren't hitting anything else today.


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