# my personal best saugeye



## crawdiddy (Apr 10, 2006)

tonite I caught my pb saugeye in one of our great flows. Fish measured 26.5" and 6.27 lbs when I got home. It hit (and chewed up) a lucky craft pointer 100 in american shad color. Also got a 16.5 or so smallie (same lure)and a 11" channel on a xrap 10 in perch with the hackled hook swapped out for a plain hook. Other than that I fished a rapala countdown 11 in perch. I am stoked to have caught this fish, my previous best was about 2" and 2 lbs less I'm guessing. This one was pretty fat. It turned out tasting terrific. What you see on the grill is after we ate 2 pieces.


----------



## fisherman (Jun 3, 2005)

very nice fish


----------



## Cw_Angler_11 (Apr 11, 2006)

yeah that is a very nice fish congrats


----------



## saugmon (Jun 14, 2006)

Sweet Saugeye crawdiddy!!!

Now your're messing with my turf- LOL

Saugeye steaks- Yummy!!!

I'm going to have to grill me up some.


----------



## crawdiddy (Apr 10, 2006)

those are my first fillets in my entire life. I've only cleaned fish maybe 5 or 6 times. In the past its mostly been panfish and a couple smaller saugeyes. I tried to fillet a 19" or so saugeye once and gave up. For this I used a large serrated knife. It worked pretty well but I bet an expert could get a bit more meat than I did. It was awesome. Kinda like halibut+swordfish divided by 2(what am I talking about?!?!). I really liked the meat at the very back by the tail. Weighed on a kroger scale lol!!!!


----------



## TIGGER (Jan 17, 2006)

Nice fish! I thought you have to wrap it in foil before cooking it on the inside stove.  Grilling them on the barby is the best!


----------



## jshbuckeye (Feb 27, 2005)

nice job dude that canoe trip is looking good
________
SUZUKI SPLASH


----------



## misfit (Apr 5, 2004)

nice fish indeed,crawdiddy


----------



## SwollenGoat (Apr 13, 2005)

That's a beauty!


----------



## truck (Apr 12, 2004)

Congrats on your PB,nice fish.Ya did not have to show the pics of the grill,now I am hungry!!!


----------



## Leo (Apr 24, 2006)

*NIIIIICE!*


----------



## fishingredhawk (Apr 14, 2004)

Awesome Diddy!!! I'm guessing it came from Griggs? Only problem is you keep cutting your head off in your fish pics!


----------



## Phil Carver (Apr 5, 2004)

If I had a head like diidy I would cut if off as well ! LOL Congrats on the new pb eye . Your starting to love that river system to much ! Good luck next time out and see ya out there soon .


----------



## Fishing-Miller23 (Jul 16, 2005)

Nice Fish!


----------



## esoxhunter (Apr 7, 2004)

Way to go crawdiddy!!!!!!! If its got teeth, its cool with me


----------



## starcraft (Jun 3, 2005)

Nice saugeye!! Congrats on the catch.


----------



## crittergitter (Jun 9, 2005)

Way to go crawdiddy. That's an awesome saugeye especially for this time of year!

CG


----------



## JamesT (Jul 22, 2005)

Good catch Craw. That grill pic has my stomach envious.

Those lucky crafts are becoming your standard. Too bad the river has a tendency to make them disappear every once in a while . lol.

Cheers,
James


----------



## liquidsoap (Oct 22, 2005)

LOL phil you crack me up!!!!!!!!!
Nice fish crawdiddy, thats a hog indeed!


----------



## crawdiddy (Apr 10, 2006)

Thanks for all the compliments   

I'll be at griggs tonite. if anyones going say hi, I'm in the canoe.


----------



## Hunter78 (Apr 22, 2006)

Nice fish Crawdiddy! Those pictures have my stomach growling.


----------



## Nickadams (May 1, 2004)

That's a hog! Did it pull your canoe around?


----------



## Teacherman (Jun 26, 2006)

Very nice fish Crawdiddy!!! Nice fishing shirt too!


----------



## saugmon (Jun 14, 2006)

Hey crawdiddy:

Did you happen to check out the inside of that saugeye's mouth?

I call the darker saugeyes - freaks. They are also meaner, LOL

The Freaks,will have their normal teeth,teeth on the roof of their mouths,and I've also seen teeth on their tongues.

Those freaky ones will have a darker color,like yours. Most are light,almost identical to walleye.

Here's an example of what I call a freaky saugeye,and note the color change compared to the other's that's nearly the same size, still alive,and have the black marks on their dorsel fins/darker tail tips: 2nd saugeye,from lower/right corner:










It may be the sauger part of their genes being more dominant,vs the lighter ones?


----------



## peple of the perch (Sep 13, 2004)

nice fish.


----------



## oufisherman (Apr 10, 2004)

Very nice on the personal best! That is one heck of a suageye!


----------



## Basskisser1 (May 15, 2004)

Really nice fish!!!!!!


----------



## fishslim (Apr 28, 2005)

Wow way to go Craw those river eyes are a blast. Remember a time not to far gone when you could get a alot that size. Was you at griggs or Oshay this time? Keep it up!!


----------



## liquidsoap (Oct 22, 2005)

saugmon said:


> Hey crawdiddy:
> 
> Did you happen to check out the inside of that saugeye's mouth?
> 
> ...


Interesting, maybe someone from OGF could clear that one up, thats a nice harvest there. Couldnt find the last saugeye so you replaced it with 2 cats...


----------



## crawdiddy (Apr 10, 2006)

good to know I caught a freak ! LOL! you know your eyes. I'm pretty sure it was darker when I first caught it too. This picture was taken about 3 hours after I caught it(it was in my canoe about every 30 minutes I'd dunk it for 10 seconds to keep it from getting dry). I wanted to release it (so I'd have a minute chance of catching it next year or the following)but I also wanted a picure but didn't have a camera. No regrets though. I learned that big eyes (which normally don't taste as good as the smaller ones from what I hear) can taste awesome. I also think I learned a grilling tip. When grilling leave the skin on (maybe you do this anyways), if you prefer you can take it off after (it peels right off) but I think there is juicy fat in the skin which makes the fish extra juicy and tasty. I like the skin (ever had a salmon skin sushi roll...mmmm). I tried to pry its mouth open with a metal ruler so I could take a pic of me thumbing it, but bad idea. It had lockjaw. I did get my thumb in there a little and it clamped down on me. As far as where it was caught it was caught in a spot where I had to get out of my canoe at least once and drag it up a shallower rapids area(not enough power in my motor). When the water is lower my trolling motor hits bottom. When the rivers are up try big suspending jerkbaits like husky jerk 12, or xrap 10 or pointer 100(there are others these are just ones I have used I think the larger profile, rattle, and erratic action works well when the water is up a bit....if its up higher I would use a sinking lure like a rattletrap or countdown rapala or a 1/2 oz kastmaster though...or similar this is just what I have used). I will be getting a pointer 128 to replace the 100 I caught the eye (and my 3.5 lb largemouth) on as I did indeed loose it to the river goods. My basic mode of fishing right is is "hmmm...I wonder what will "go for" this". If I get one nice fish in 4 or 5 hours I'm pumped. If I don't it was still nice to be out and I'll usually catch at least a smaller fish or two. Thanks again and tight lines all.


----------



## Traylor Trash (Apr 4, 2006)

You know I'm guessing diddy isn't married, that or he has a cool wife. cause if I ever laid a fish across our range top I would be a dead man.


----------



## Mushijobah (May 4, 2004)

Those dark, real bronze ones are usually sauger. If it had spots on the dorsal instead of bars it was definately a sauger, and a big one at that! It could only have been a sauger if it was caught in the scioto south of greenlawn dam or any trib. flowing in south of there.


----------



## Fishing-Miller23 (Jul 16, 2005)

Mushijobah said:


> Those dark, real bronze ones are usually sauger. If it had spots on the dorsal instead of bars it was definately a sauger, and a big one at that! It could only have been a sauger if it was caught in the scioto south of greenlawn dam or any trib. flowing in south of there.



I don't think that saugers get that big.


----------



## saugmon (Jun 14, 2006)

My local saugeye lake-Indian lake,only has saugeye. A long time ago,walleye used to be stocked,but never took hold.Boy did the saugeye take hold.

Any walleye left in there,they'd have to be monsters of at least 15-20 yrs old.

No sauger either. 

When they get over 18",you'll get 1 dark,freaky one out of 10 lighter ones. Pretty weird.


----------



## Mushijobah (May 4, 2004)

Saugers do get that big. If it was out of a lake, it was def. not a sauger. The more I look at it I also realize that if it were a sauger it would be much more slender.


----------



## misfit (Apr 5, 2004)

saugers do get that big,but that fish looks to be about 20 inches or so,and would be considered much more the exception,than the rule around here.they also inhabit lakes.again,that would probably be the exception here more than in some other states.and i've seen some pretty "chunky" saugers also,though they are typically more on the more "streamlined" side.


----------



## crawdiddy (Apr 10, 2006)

the fish was intentionally held close to my body (about 1" bw the back of the fish and my tshirt). aren't all stoves a standard width? if so, go measure yours. maybe you are more familiar with the small frabill nets? do I need to bust out exhibit d? LOL  

btw I heated up the leftovers today. THere was a big piece and half a piece. The big piece looked and was the size of a big fat chicken breast. I didn't get a single bone both days. I had walleye at the columbus fish market once (also grilled)and this was even better!


----------



## misfit (Apr 5, 2004)

diddy,not much doubt about the size of your fsh.
i think we're talking about different fish  
i was refering to the one in saugmon's pic.i thought that was the one mushi was talking about
didn't mean for you to mistake me for one of the "fish story police"  

btw,stoves come in various widths


----------



## crawdiddy (Apr 10, 2006)

sorry about that. Now I'm guilty of pouncing on "what was thought to be a fish story policeman" lololol I should have known better. This fish was caught above greenlawn. So its probably not a sauger. There might be a pic or two in the future which could confirm this. Also misfit thanks for rearranging the pics like you do oftentimes to make them look purtier.


----------



## crawdiddy (Apr 10, 2006)

what I actually ate was my roomates leftover chicken. the fish is still in there. lololololol


----------



## misfit (Apr 5, 2004)

> Also misfit thanks for rearranging the pics like you do oftentimes to make them look purtier.


 i'm too lazy to scroll back and forth on the page


----------

