ENJOYING THE OUTDOORS: SAUGER WAITING FOR WINTER ANGLERS

Go fishing now?

Kidding, right?

Not exactly. If this seems about the least likely time of the year for fishing, consider the sauger.

The sauger, a member of the perch family and first cousin of the walleye, observe spring a little early -- in winter, that is. The cold weather period is the time when this glassy-eyed, toothy torpedo clusters in large numbers for procreation purposes. By about April, when other fish are tuning up for romance, sauger already are finished and scattered.

From late fall through the chill of winter and up until about the first of spring, sauger fishing possibilities are at a peak where they accumulate for the annual spawning rituals right about the time water temperatures begin to warm. And where they congregate most is the tailwaters of dams along major rivers.

The sauger is prolific in big water streams, particularly if they have a bit of murky character to the water. Clearer waters seem more to the liking of walleyes. The Ohio, Tennessee, Cumberland and Mississippi rivers all are rich sauger kingdoms.

Environmental laws have vastly improved the quality of our rivers in recent decades, and fish populations have responded accordingly. One recipient of this water quality gift has been the sauger. Another has been cousin walleye. With similar lifestyles and habits, walleye have been appearing in scattered but growing instances in tailwaters right along with the sauger.

Sauger went through what appears to be a short-lived downturn resulting from the drought years of the mid- to late-80s. During that time, amid low, clear water conditions, sauger experienced low spawn years and consequently declined in numbers. Subsequent to that period, the species has been busily rebounding.

At present, sauger should be congregated in "staging areas" for later spawning. Telemetry studies by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency confirm that sauger cluster below major dams throughout the fall and winter, relating to current bars and points -- locations that form current breaks -- during the weeks and months before they move all the way to the dams to spawn.

Sauger are likely to be found in generous numbers anywhere from the face of a dam and downstream for perhaps a mile along various eddy-forming bottom structures.

Winter, the factor that draws sauger to the tailwaters, also is the sauger fisherman's greatest adversary. Despite the opportunities, it's difficult to generate enthusiasm for fishing in any but the most dedicated anglers when temperatures are somewhat Arctic in nature.

Catch a relatively mild day in January of February, however, and the possibilities are rosier. Modern insulated clothing and perhaps a catalytic heater in a boat makes winter sauger fishing more reasonable. An angler has to pick and choose his days based on his own comfort standards.

The how-to of winter sauger fishing is fairly basic. It usually involves fishing a jig, minnow or jig and minnow combination right along bottom around current breaks. Light tackle with 6- to 10-pound line and straight-down bottom-bumping tactics are recommended.

A standard for many sauger anglers is a heavy - to 1-ounce jig dressed with hair or soft plastic, one rigged with a small treble trailer hook on a short length of line tied from the eye of the main jig hook. A dead minnow is head-hooked on the main hook, one point of the treble trailer hook then being inserted into the tail of the minnow.

Sauger, notorious tail-biters, most often are caught on the tiny treble trailer when they sip in the caboose of the minnow.

The rule of thumb is to keep the jig-minnow combination on or very near bottom, lifting it no more than a foot and dropping it slowly as one prods for sauger. Bites usually come as soft bumps in the cold water.

On a day when the winter wind is whipping and the temperature reads like someone's shoe size, forget it. There's enough suffering in the world already, and even a boat full of fish is inadequate compensation for a dose of hypothermia or frozen fingers.

On the other hand, a moderation in conditions can open a window of opportunity to load up on some good fish and beat the calendar. All the best fishing doesn't come with spring.

~Steve Vantreese is outdoors editor of The Paducah Sun.