# Sauger, How big



## C J Hughes (Jan 24, 2006)

How big do sauger get on the Ohio River ? I have fished it for over 30 years and have never caught one over 24 inches 4 lbs . I have caught saugeye over 24 inches out of the Ohio River, but sauger seem to be around 19 to 23 .


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## riverKing (Jan 26, 2007)

24in is about the top end of what you'll ever catch, the world record is only 9lbs and some change and i think it was 27 or 28in, i could be wrong on the length. any sauger over 18in is a really big sauger, over 21 i would consider a trophy. in the ohio river because it is one of the best places to catch sauger it's possible to catch some bigger ones but they would be rare


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## C J Hughes (Jan 24, 2006)

http://www.fishin.com/articles/ohiosauger.htm River King have you ever read this article ?


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## snake69 (Sep 26, 2005)

Considering how much I fish the river and more specifically, the New Cumberland Dam, I enjoyed the reading. Thanks for the link. The over harvest has me thinking......


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## C J Hughes (Jan 24, 2006)

I struggle during the summer months to catch 10 saugers a day . Yet in the fall there seems to be millions of them . I do seem to catch the larger saugers trolling in the summer but I really have to hunt for them . If over harvest is the problem it can only be happening in the fall and winter months at the locks . I quit going to the locks years ago too many people for me , but I still can't see that many saugers taken that they never make it more than what they say in that report .
Back in 1988 when we had the last drought the next 5 years were the best that I have ever seen , hopefully that is what we have to look forward to .


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## crocodile (Sep 26, 2006)

I never keep any of the fish I catch. I love just going on a hunt after a monster so I can take a picture and release it. I see tons of people keeping stringers of saugers and hybrids. Some are legal but some of the fish don't meet lengths or over their limit. I have no problem with people taking fish for a meal but what if those guys take stringers of fish every time they go out. Just my view on the subject. I practice and preach catch and release. I always will. Ronnie


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## riverKing (Jan 26, 2007)

i have read the article several times, i dont think it really has very conclusive information except it shows how inefective electrofishing is for collective bigger fish that tend to live deeper. new cumberland has very low numbers because it is very difficult to shock effectively, it doesnt have habitat near the bank where the majority of the time shocking is spent, greenup has great habitat and lots of fish, i have shocked both and saw a similar pattern, however pike island pool itself had more sauger and eyes than did meldahl, though not by much. btw this year there are alot of those little sauger they are talking about.


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## snake69 (Sep 26, 2005)

Can't remember if it was last year or the year before, but on any given day, you'd catch upwards of one hundred 7 to 9 inch saugers. It was definitely unbelieveable. This was at Cumberland Dam. I figure if the mortality isn't that high, there should be a boatload of keepers this year. I know that in the past 2-3 weeks, I've seen *alot* of nice ones caught!!


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