When the weather turns cold, Mike Cyze heads to the river to feed some hungry sauger.

At this time of year, though many fishermen have already put their boats away for the winter, there is still fabulous sauger action happening on our Midwest rivers—the Rock, Illinois and my favorite, the Mississippi. All are producing great catches. These are hot spots for sauger due to dams where the fish congregate in tailwater areas this late in the year.

Fishing for sauger this time of the year is relatively easy for both novice and experienced anglers. For the most part, anglers will be fishing vertically over the side of the boat. Jigs tipped with live bait, usually minnows, will be all that’s necessary to get into these fish and have them bite. Sauger will be in tailwater areas and feeding mainly on shad and other small baitfish that are getting washed through the gates of the dam. As these baitfish are pulled through the turbulence of the dam, they become dazed and disoriented and the sauger have easy pickings. It’s like a shad buffet for the feeding fish. Because of this, it’s imperative to start out using a lure or live minnow that looks somewhat like the shad or baitfish the sauger are feeding on.

If you plan on using minnows as bait, make it a point to use bigger minnows in the 3- to 4-inch size range for best results. If you find that the sauger are really aggressive, you can use plastic shad bodies on your jig. But remember, use colors that match what the sauger are feeding on.

As far as that vertical style presentation I mentioned, sauger will most often be located in deeper areas of the tailwaters than you would find walleyes holding. Watch your depth finder and concentrate on steep drop-off areas where the sauger tend to push shad onto the flat above the drop-off and attack them there. Other times, you can keep your presentation deep and close to the bottom where sauger tend to school and roam, looking for food. Don’t overwork your bait or lure, as a nice, slow and steady lift-and-fall motion seems to work well. But, on occasion, don’t be afraid to vary your presentation to determine what the fish prefer on that given day.

I also use the same vertical presentation to slowly backtroll a lure or bait upstream, against the current, once again staying close to the bottom for best results. If you’re fishing with partners, each should start with different presentations, which will make it quicker and easier to pattern what the fish want. When you find out, you can both switch over to that method.

I know it’s the cold-weather season, but right now on the Mississippi River here in the Midwest the sauger bite it hot, hot, hot! So, dress warm, wear that PFD and have the time of your life catching your limit of these tasty fish. You’ll be glad you did.

When it comes to fishing, are you ready to try something new? Look for inspiration in the winter issues of MidWest Outdoors, available by subscribing on our website.