Walleye, Sauger & Saugeye Tips

[Fredrick]

I am not sure what exact fish I am seeing but I live in branson .I see them in the local creeks(for example swan creek in forsyth) I fish , they are most likely Sauger. Anyways these fish sit dead still in the middle of the creek and 99.999% of the time wont give a lure any chase. One time i had them tap a rapala but that was it. I use a ultra light with 4 lb test . Whats the trick for these picky fish

[Ham]

Do some searching on the Internet for fish of Missouri. I'd guess you are seeing some variety of a sucker not a sauger. I wish the swan had Sauger.

Maybe after comparing the photos, you can get a better fish ID.

[vonreed]

Walleye have a white tip on the bottom of the tail. If they are walleye, the only way I know to catch them in a clear stream like Swan is to wait till it starts getting dark and use a purple swimming minnow in a jig head. If they are walleye you will catch a few. But most likely like was said above, they are probably suckers you're seeing. If not, post a report again so I can come catch some.

[Fredrick]

I know what a sucker looks like these look nothing like a sucker. There are in fact walleye and sauger in swan creek if you turn to page 28 of your little mo fishing rules handbook there is a special regulation for walleye and sauger in swan creek.I will try the purple minnows wounder were to buy them around branson. They don't really start biting till dark?

[flytyer57]

If they's walleye's use a nightcrawler on a two or three hook rig.

Put a big enough sinker to get to the bottom a few feet ahead of the bait and use a floating jig head with a stinger hook.

Minnows should work just as well.

You could even use a slip bobber and drift the bait to them.

Just make sure you put it in front of their nose cuz they probably won't come up for it. Especially during daylight.

[vonreed]

I know what a sucker looks like these look nothing like a sucker. There are in fact walleye and sauger in swan creek if you turn to page 28 of your little mo fishing rules handbook there is a special regulation for walleye and sauger in swan creek.I will try the purple minnows wounder were to buy them around branson. They don't really start biting till dark?

A good place to buy swimming minnows is at either of the bait shops in Forsyth. But worms and minnows work well also. I'm assuming these fish are probably way upstream now since the water is so high and you can see them. I can't wait to get down there now and check this out.

[Al Agnew]

It just doesn't sound like walleye or sauger. Both species are almost never found in creeks the size of Swan Creek except during spawning runs. The runs take place early in the spring, and the fish nearly always move immediately back down into bigger water once spawning is over, and since they don't guard eggs like bass do, they don't have to hang around. Walleye and sauger are both somewhat aversive to strong light, and when they are in streams that aren't very big and are very clear, they tend to stay in the deepest, darkest water possible during the day. I've seen young of the year walleye in streams the size of Swan Creek later in the summer, but they will not be more than 6 inches long. Since there was plenty of high water late this spring, the fish that moved up into Swan Creek to spawn should have had no trouble going back down into the lake.

As was said above, walleye have a pretty distinctive white tip to the lower lobe of their tail, and also white tips to the anal fin and pelvic fins that show up in clear water. If the fish you're seeing are walleye these marks should be pretty easy to see. Sauger do not have the white tail tip. But sauger aren't very common in the White River system.

If indeed they are walleye, the chances are that if you can see them they are inactive, and inactive walleye are just that...they won't be much interested in anything you throw at them. Especially in very clear water that's not deep, they are going to be mostly active at night. Active or even neutral walleye in Ozark streams tend to be cruisers--a guy I once knew who was a student of walleye on Current River said he would watch them from atop a bluff when the river was very clear in the winter, and they would move continually, staying in the deeper, slower parts of a pool but moving from the upstream edge of deep water to the downstream edge, and back up.

You didn't say how big these fish were, nor exactly why you think they are walleye or sauger. I'd be curious as to: what kind of places in the creek you are seeing them, how big they are, whether or not they are right on the bottom or suspended over it, and what shape and color they appear to be.

[Gary Lange]

Walleyes in the River systems move upriver to Spawning sights in late November and early December. This on most is below dams and they will move up stream as far as they can until something either man made or natural stops them. Theey will stage in deep holes downstream from spawning grounds and they use the same spawning grounds all the time.They will move from deep water holes and feed below the dam at night and then head back to the holes which are usually in the 30' range. When the water reaches about 40-45 degrees they move up at dark and usually spawn unil about midnight with some depositing all there eggs in about four hours and some doing it over several day and hour at a time. Once the eggs are deposited they will move back down stream to the deeper holes. They don't stay to protect them at all. I have caught River Walleye in shallow water but this was a shallow water river and the water was darker and stained. I usually used a 1/8oz. yellow bucktail jig for these. When I fished the deeper rivers I used a 1/4oz. jig tipped with a minnow in a vertical presentation bounced along the bottom.

[Al Agnew]

Yeah, Gary, that's the usual spawning behavior on Ozark streams running into reservoirs, like Swan Creek, except that on streams the size of Swan, I think that when they move is determined by water levels, and they may not start moving until February. I do know that in the streams like the Current and Black where they live in the stream year-round, they don't start moving to spawning riffles until mid to late February. And they don't have to go far on these rivers. They tend to scatter somewhat after spawning, moving into medium-sized pools as well as big pools, but always where there is fairly deep water and cover. By late fall most have moved to the larger, deeper pools where they spend the winter.

On small streams (as small or smaller than Swan) that are direct Mississippi River tributaries, they'll move into these streams to spawn sometime around the last of February/first of March, but how far up they go is dependent on how high the big river is and how much water is flowing in the tribs. Basically they'll move as far up as they need to go to find a few good spawning riffles. If the water is very high on the river, it may back up these tributaries for up to 15 miles, and they'll move up that far, get their spawning done, and follow the dropping river level back down.

[Fredrick]

i know you guys don't believe me but thats ok. I will take a picture when i land the fish. i was out of work when i lived in forsyth i use to go to the creek every day . This is what i saw then and what i saw in the creek the other day http://fish.dnr.cornell.edu/nyfish/Percidae/sauger.html. If i had a cast net i would land one i saw them up close 2-3 feet from me pointy mouth and all