# Saugeye tactics?



## Choppywaters

I am new saugeye fisher, and was wondering what are people using to catch them? I have been out 3 or 4 times this past week and only caught 2. I am fishing them like walleye, but only a bit slower on the retrieve. I used a silver leaf for one, and a shad rap for the other.....Any info will help....


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## misfit

daytime,this time of year,if i can get the boat on the water,i stick with vibes,spoons and jig/minnie on the lakes. 
tossing jig/twistertail is my favorite in the streams and spillways.jerkbaits and cranks will take the fish also.fishing shallow shoreline water,casting or trolling jerkbaits and cranks works.


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## bill_gfish

heck, you gotta give me tips. I've been 7 times in the last week in 2 dif. locations and got squat. I guess they aint there... 

bill


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## bttmline

hey choppy
one thing you must remember about saugeyes that they tend to relate to the bottom.
if you fish two foot off bottom you most likely not do well for saugeyes
bttmline


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## Choppywaters

thanks alot fellas, i will be at big walnut trying those tactics out..  .


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## misfit

bttmline hit it on the head.they ain't walleyes  
they relate to the bottom,as a rule,but as they say.............rules are made to be broken  



> I guess they aint there


bill,i guess that's why you ain't catchin' 'em   
maybe you should just go over and sit on raybob's deck


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## Star1pup

From reading this thread, I get the impression that I should do any trolling a little slower than when after walleyes. The slower trolling speed would help keep the lure or bait down closer to the bottom. Does this make sense?


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## JIG

SAUGEYES WILL HOLD TO THE BOTTOM INTILL THE WATER EITHER RISES OR LOWERS THEN HEAD SOUTH AGAIN! THE RULES ARE ALWAYS MADE TO BE BROKEN! JUST TIME AND PLACE. THE MAJORITY OF THE TIME THEY DO LAY LOW MAKING SENSE TO SLOW THE PRESENTATION. BUT DO SHALLOW FOR WARM WATER IN CURRENT AREAS FOR FOOD. THEY MIGRATE FROM ONE LOCATION TO THE NEXT ON THE BOTTOM.  THEY GET AROUND PRETTY GOOD


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## misfit

trolling speed depends on a number of factors.depth,time of year,mood of fish,etc.
sometimes they might go for a slow presentation,and other times you need to speed up.i've caught,and seen caught,fish by trolling anywhere from 1+ mph to 5-6 mph,so you just have to figure out what they want at any given time,but the most important thing is keep baits within 1 foot or so of,or bumping bottom occasionally.with crawler harnesses and live bait rigs,i usually keep the speed down.with cranks,sometimes it takes a faster retrieve to trigger strikes.


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## Net

Star1pup said:


> From reading this thread, I get the impression that I should do any trolling a little slower than when after walleyes. The slower trolling speed would help keep the lure or bait down closer to the bottom. Does this make sense?


 I suppose I do troll slower for saugeye than I do walleye, but it's not because of the saugeye's bottom hugging nature. It has more to do with the saugeye's *structure* hugging nature. For example, it's very difficult to efficiently troll a serpentine breakline at higher speeds. This is why many of us have gone with tools like lead core line or heavy bottom-bouncers. Anything that helps to shorten the amount of line out will go a long way toward helping you become a better structure troller.


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## Corey

Personally, I favor much faster presentations for Saugeyes than for Walleyes, except during very tough conditions; i.e., severe cold fronts. I (don't laught too hard now) actually have one oufit that is very heavy that I use to contour troll spinners or crankbaits with up to a full pound of lead. The extreme weight allows me to run at boat speeds up to 4-5 mph or faster, and still have the lure close enough to the boat to be able to follow changing contours. The presentation works much like handlining but with a rod & reel.


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## Net

Jim, that setup sounds more like a downrigger.  

Of course the most common speed tactic nowadays is to have a good selection of waypoints (at a given trolling depth) on your gps. Then all you have to do is connect the dots at higher trolling speeds.


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## Corey

I've tried downriggers on our inland lakes for Saugeyes and they don't work well for me. It's hard to make the constant depth adjustments to maintain my lure in that bottom few inches of the water column.


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## Net

Yeah, I hear ya. I feel the same away about Dipsy's & Jets on inland lakes. 

Speaking of handlining, is that legal in Ohio....or do you have to use a rod? I know it's popular in places like the Detroit River. I've always wanted to improvise something like that for Alum & Hoover. (Don't worry folks....I won't be dragging around a section of chain link fence like that guy did at the Alum dam a few years back...lol)


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## ShakeDown

I remember that Terry 

I had pretty good results this past summer trolling Alum with jets, but you have to watch everything like a HAWK. You hang one of those up, you'll know it. Broke a rod holder, learned my lesson.


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## Erie Addict

I will take the other side of the coin or play devils advocate on this topic. By looking over my log from the last few years, During the summer months into fall, I have caught my biggest Saugeye, smallmouths and muskys trolling at speeds in excess of 3MPH banging bottom occaisionally. We are typically trolling SMall muskie shad profile baits that can dive to 20-25' depending upon how much line you let out. Line size is 50# power pro. I too always trolled slowly following contours at what ever depth I am targeting. About 3 years ago I fished an outing with the local muskie club. I was fishing with one of the best muskie trolling guys in Ohio. He kept getting pissed because we kept catching large saugeyes. I tried this pattern on my own several times and it does seem to work on most central ohio lakes.


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## Corey

Alum is the lake that made me try the heavy outfit. The rapidly changing contours and Zebra Mussels make flat lining or lead core very hard to do except in a very few areas of the lake. With 12 to 16 ounces of lead I can power troll cranks at pretty high speeds and closely follow the contours.


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