Sauger on the Ohio River 12/15

[M R Dux]

Justin (Finiman) from the Indiana Forum had been promising me he would let me know when water conditions and the sauger bite were good to go. I haven’t sauger fished the big rivers in 25+ years and wasn’t very successful then.

Rickie had been chomping at the bit to go so when Justin made the call, I asked if I could bring a straggler. No problem.

We made the 2 hour drive in below freezing temps and then ended up in a riverside corn field when my GPS decided it had a sense of humor. After a couple of rescue calls, we met Justin at the ramp.

We got to the dam as daylight was just breaking. A quick tutorial from Justin got us ready to drop some medium minnows over the side. Rickie’s 1st fish came about 10 seconds later.

The action was crazy for the 1st hour. I was honestly afraid we would limit out before we got the chance to soak up all the sights and smells of the Ohio. We had boats all around us but everyone was very considerate. We even shared a conversation with another Crappie.com member who is a long-time visitor to this particular area of the Ohio.

The action slowed at our 1st stop so Justin suggested we try a different tactic and area close-by. We visited with the occupants of boats all around us and I never heard a cross word or complaint about you got my spot or you’re too close to my boat. There were times 2 boats were landing fish just a spit distance apart while drifting down the river in a complete raft of boats of all makes and sizes. This was fishing cooperation at its finest.

Justin’s boat handling was superb and we kept adding to the box. The double minnow rigs worked great. Lots of boats around us were using large jigs with plastics or minnows and stinger hooks. Our boat was putting as many fish in the box as anybody else and just before 1PM we put #30 keeper in the box. One that I had caught earlier was tagged.

It was by far the best day I’ve ever had sauger fishing in winter. Thanks Justin.


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