Pool 4 Sauger Population Decline

Many of us were talking after the 2nd Annual Schneider Scholarship Memorial this weekend and are amazed at the decline of the sauger population on Pool 4. Of the 3 tournaments I helped organize this year (a total of 126 boats), we have only weighed in 9 total saugers – and none more than 1.75lbs. Something is going on and we are starting to speak our concerns to the Fisheries. I am keeping my opionion to myself, for the time being….but curious on all your views. This is NOT the norm and year after year there has been a significant decline. To many of us, it is time to speak up and voice our concerns.

Fishing pressure has increased 100 fold over the last 15 years and people that would not think of keeping a walleye over 20 inches will fill a livewell with 20 inch saugers day after day.
Silt from the water shed is filling in prime spawning areas.Pollution from medications and chemicals that we can’t get out with todays water treatment plants.
Just my 2 cents from a guy that has fished P4 for over 45 years.

This issue has been a hot conversation piece among Pool 4 anglers over the last couple years.

If I were to make a educated guess, I think Stuart’s assessment of increased fishing pressure is spot on.

I haven’t caught many of the big saugs that used to be thick there in awhile either. The leadcore bite on Pepin used to be lots of 17-20″ sauger. Now it is mostly dinks.

I am thinking fishing pressure combined with some poor years for spawning has them on a down cycle right now.

Darn shame to. That is an unbelievable fishery. Or used to be.

And I fully agree also. Growing up on Pool 4, it is an easy assessment to make – that we are cutting our own throats. It is SAD when you go to the Lake City Fish Cleaning station day after day and watch 10″ – 12″ saugers being filleted out. I guess more importantly, what can we and what are we going to do to voice our opionions. On all my tournament reports that I submit to the Fisheries, I have always voiced my opinion that there has to be something done, whether increasing slot size to 15″ minimum, to closing the season at some point (or catch and release only during certain timeframes). Yes, I know that keeping the season open year long generates money for many – and I can appreciate that. However, we have to understand conservation has to play an important role to sustain also.

The saugers crashed well over 15 years ago up here on pool 2 and fishing pressure had nothing to do with it. (was still 100% C&R) Back in the mid to late 90’s 100+ fish days were common. Now, it’s pretty rare to catch them. Just food for thought.

-J.

I would be all for a 15″ minimum on Saugers, but I think it comes down to better educating anglers. Where most anglers understand the importance of releasing a 20″+ pre-spawn walleye, most of those same anglers think nothing of keeping a limit of 18-20″ pre-spawn saugers, which coincidentally is prime breeding stock for that species of fish.

I haven’t been fishing pool 4 for that many years, but it has definitely gotten worse over the years I have fished it. I can tell you that in the years I’ve fished P4 I have seen the amount of boats explode.

I feel there is a lot of that “I drove this far to fish, so I’m going to keep my limit” mentality going on. I’ll drive an hour and a half and sometimes throw back every fish I catch, but I know that is not the norm.

I would love to see a slot limit on the river (all pools), but I worry just as much about scour hole anglers. Fish early spring on P4, and count the 8″ saugers floating by. It can be sickening.

I agree with Jon pool 2 is catch and release only and the saugers are not there to be found in numbers as they were. Don’t know what has changed as I read the river is supposed to be getting cleaner.

I agree with most of the comments. And though I’d have no problem with a 15 inch minimum, Jon raises a good point about the experience on Pool 2. So it’s likely something is going on besides just fishing pressure. I recall seeing an interesting DNR report (I think) from a year or so ago where they summarized populations of various year class walleye and saugers. I was surprised at how much variation there was year to year. Perhaps the weird weather of last 5 to 10 years has had some impact. Heck if I know. Definitely worth discussing and looking into, though. Like others, I’ve noticed what appears to be a decrease.

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“I drove this far to fish, so I’m going to keep my limit” mentality going on.

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Unfortunately this mentality and the “it’s brown, it’s down” mentality are all to common here in MN.

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“I drove this far to fish, so I’m going to keep my limit” mentality going on.

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Unfortunately this mentality and the “it’s brown, it’s down” mentality are all to common here in MN.

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Thing is, it shouldn’t be that hard to convince folks to throw them back. One meal should do it. They taste like crap. Muddy and the texture of sawdust.
I just don’t understand why so many get kept?

Not sure it would ever happen, but a four fish limit here or statewide might help all fish populations. As for the river a four fish limit would certainly help, maybe even three fish from December 1 to Feb 28. How many fish go home each day on weekends between the boaters at the dam and ice anglers @ Frontenac? I don’t know how many people have talked about how great the fishing was on the ice the winter of 2011-12, maybe too good for the sauger population…..

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“I drove this far to fish, so I’m going to keep my limit” mentality going on.

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Unfortunately this mentality and the “it’s brown, it’s down” mentality are all to common here in MN.

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I have to admit I was the same way the first few years I discovered Pool 4. But my wife reminded why I always asked her permission to run up there was the greater chance at big pig.

FDR

Saugers and white bass are both way down on pool 2. Sure cant blame fishing pressure or that they are getting eaten. natural cycle? Something going on with their food source? Seems to me the early spring sauger and white bass runs on the upper croix are way off to. They are not getting a lot of fishing pressure up there either.

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They taste like crap. Muddy and the texture of sawdust.

I just don’t understand why so many get kept?

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Apparently your one of the few who thinks this as lots, and lots of people are not only keeping them, there coming back to catch more.

I’ve got to wonder if any of this is flood related.

Not just spring floods, but early summer floods, summer floods and fall as well.

I don’t fish there that often, but in general, it seems like there is more flooding through out the year than in the past.

I have been thinking it has been pressure along with a few bad year classes according to the study the MN DNR did a while back.

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I’ve got to wonder if any of this is flood related.
Not just spring floods, but early summer floods, summer floods and fall as well.
I don’t fish there that often, but in general, it seems like there is more flooding through out the year than in the past.

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I recall having fairly high water into summer times in more recent years too. But I am not sure how this would have an effect on the fish population, specifically sauger. These observations have been on my home pools of 6, 7, and 8.

FDR

I was talking to the pool 4 fisheries guy from the MN DNR earlier this year.
There was a phenominal 2001 year class for saugers.
Unfortunately, saugers only live to be about 12 years old.
Hence, 2001 + 12 = end of phenominal year class availability
will be in 2013.
Guess what year this is.

Wouldn’t you agree that if there was a great 2001 class however, that during the proceeding years there would be a great potential for great spawns with all the mature fish? Just seems they are not dropping off slowly, but more like expotentially.

I posed that question and he agreed, it would seem likely,
Unfortunately,
he said likely has not happened.

Ahhhh…..de cycle of life.

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The saugers crashed well over 15 years ago up here on pool 2 and fishing pressure had nothing to do with it. (was still 100% C&R) Back in the mid to late 90’s 100+ fish days were common. Now, it’s pretty rare to catch them. Just food for thought.

-J.

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If you think fishing pressure has absolutely nothing to do with it, I would discredit your statement almost immediately. You can’t say fishing pressure has no effect on a fishery.

I have talked quite a few times with the fisheries biologist on the wisconsin side of pool 4/5. He has said that pressure does contribute to the numbers being low.

The 18″ Sauger I caught during this tournament was the thinnest sauger I have ever had the pleasure to catch, it had about as much weight as a 14″ walleye would have. Very unhealthy looking fish!

They are all swimming upstream to my pool

Heard someone caught one below the coon rapids dam this week but that’s always an iffy statement coming from cat fisherman.

Well it’s not from a lack of bait fish in the system. Guess social media and technology are to blame then.

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I agree with Jon pool 2 is catch and release only and the saugers are not there to be found in numbers as they were. Don’t know what has changed as I read the river is supposed to be getting cleaner.

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From all the reading I’ve done sauger do better (same with whitebass) when water conditions are more turbid. Walleye don’t do as well in these conditions. As the watershed has been improved (there’s still a LONG way to go with this but improvements have been made) and the silt loads lessened species like whitebass and sauger have fallen off while walleye have benefited and increased their numbers noticeably.

I’m not a fisheries biologist but I did stay at a Holiday Inn express last night.

And there’s no doubt fishing pressure plays a role. Is it the primary contributing factor to the change in the sauger population? I’m sure other factors play a larger role. But fishing pressure can’t be discounted either.