Them Saugfishes

I'm no expert on saugfish but I do fish for them alot this time of year and people ask about it more than anything else so here's how I do it. First off the last thing I wanna do in winter is worry if there arent even any fish where I'm fishing to see my bait. In summer there are fish spread thru the whole river, in winter that isnt the case. Find a complicated stretch, even if you have to drive ten minutes further its worth it. I want an island with water pouring around both sides or at least a big s curve, a deep run, a riffle and DEEP WATER all in close proximity. Yeah thats alot to ask for but if I fish thru all that I know I will have shown my lure to at least a few fish. I've read where sauger may migrate a hundred miles in big rivers in winter it stands to reason to me that they will migrate 5 or 6 in a small river like the LMR to a great stretch of river. If I'm fishing the Great Miami for winter saugs I'm fishing below one of the dams.Its simply better below the dams, no reason to go anywhere else. 90 percent of the time I'm throwing a three inch grub. Not just any grub but a gawdawfull butt ugly one. Try pink or orange or neon green, the brighter and gaudier the better most days. Try to get a "glow" going around your bait. Now for something wierd, some days they like a neon pink one over a red with gold metalflake one. Color matters some days even if your fishing some horrid color no live fish has ever seen before. Bring a file the rocks will do a number on your hook. Expect to lose alot, I lose HUNDREDS in the course of a year. (a do-it mold will save you a fortune) The other lure I fish is a sinking or suspending minnow plug. Once in a while it will outproduce the grub. Everyone I ever talk to says minnows on a jighead will outproduce both but I hate to fool with live bait in the cold. Concentrate on slack water right up against current most of the time, but expect to try everywhere, Ive caught them anywhere as long as a deep hole was close by. Especially if there has been a week long warm spell, they might just be right in the current below a riffle or the dam. And some days you just feel a mushy weight instead of a strike, set the hook on weight in the winter. I also find that sauger sometimes have the odd habit of only wanting the bait presented one way. Just because you didn't get a strike fishing upstream doesn't mean the same lure wont get a strike fished downstream. Another trick that I see almost no one doing in winter is fishing after dark. Saugeyes, walleyes, saugers all are strongly nocturnal fish, this doesn't end in winter. If your dressed for it and fishing where no one will see you and call the cops on the crazy man you can often do very well at night in the winter. And thats it, i'm sure theres other ways to catch em but thats how I go about it. ... fish ugly lures for an ugly fish that doesn't fight all that well while freezing your a$% off possibly even in the middle of the night. Sigh...is it spring yet?