It appears many of you think the picture here is of a Walleye but actually its a Sauger. They are the smaller cousins of the Walleye but every bit as fun to catch and eat. These tasty critters roam the Tennessee River and the folks there keep the ramps full when the Sauger start their yearly migrate to spawn. On a recent trip to Savannah Tenn for Smallmouth, Aric Hein (pictured) and I found ourselves caught up in the Sauger craze. The locals were still catching them and couldnt believe we werent down there to do the same. Not wanting to offend, we eagerly ran our G3 down the scenic river near Shilou Military National Park and quickly dropped in a line.
We basically looked for some of the local fishermen, watched, listened, and joined right in drifting just off the channel. It was pretty simple, all in a straight line drifting to a certain spot then motor back upstream to start a new drift. The presentation was to simply bounce the "sauger jig" (1 1/2 oz) tipped with a Gene Larew long john slowly up and down. There was no doubt when they hit and for their size they give a pretty fair fight.
The time to catch Sauger in TN is during the months of November to April. Early in the season they are close to the dam and as the it starts to draw to a close they are found more down river. The daily limit is 10 per person and very easy to clean.
A special thanks goes out to the Broken Spoke restaurant in Counce TN who cooked up our days bounty and we enjoyed one of the best meals we had ever had. I strongly suggest you plan a trip to Savannah TN and get in on Sauger craze. You'll love to catch them and it may be hard to actually come home with any filets. You can make a pig of yourself.
Scott Turnage/Host of the G3 Sportsman
