Sauger

Key Identifying Characteristics: 

• Large, elongated fish
• Back is grey to brown with 3-4 darker brown saddles; sides paler, often with darker brown blotches or round spots, and the belly is white
• Distinct blotches or bands on adults
• Lacks white tip on lower tail fin
• Spots on dorsal fin
• Spiny and soft dorsal fins separated
• Large mouth extends below back edge of pupil

Distribution/Habitat: 

• Sauger are found throughout Ontario primarily in murky lakes and larger rivers of central, northeastern and northwestern Ontario.
• This close relative to the walleye is often found in very similar habitats.  Preferred cover includes weed, wood and rock. Bottom types can be anything from soft mud to flooded timber, rubble or bedrock.

Angling Tips: 

• Similar to walleye, sauger are a light-avoiding fish, caught most often under low light conditions. Fishing is generally best on cloudy or overcast days, or on days when waves keep light from penetrating too deeply into the water. Prime times include morning and evening.
• In springtime, sauger will take almost any bait or lure, but may be more challenging to catch through the summer months. Fall often brings another peak of feeding activity.
• Casting or trolling with spinners or minnow-imitating plugs is a good bet. Special worm harness rigs of spinners and beads are often trolled. Jigs, either traditional bucktails or tipped with any of the modern plastics, a piece of worm or minnow are sauger angling favourites.

Common Baits:

•  Jigs
•  Minnow imitating plugs
•  Minnows
•  Earthworms
•  Crayfish

Illustration credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service