The sauger fishing on pool 4 has remained very good for those willing to try the dragging bite over this past weekend. While the anglers vertical jigging showed signs of struggling, the dragging bite has been nothing short of spectacular 
. With the very low flow and river water clarity very clean, this is the time of year I start to see a great dragging bite take shape…………..happens every late winter to early Spring on this body of water. A good tip off for me that the dragging bite is starting to take shape is the vertical jigging bite slows dramatically in conjunction of the dragging presentation. You can still get some fish going vertical but I am a firm believer that once the plastic dragging bite kicks off you can double/triple your catch rate over the course of a day applying this presentation versus vertical jigging. It is not always a guarantied success, it’s just another trick to have in your back pocket that can ,very surprisingly, turn an alright day on the river in to a dynamite day on numbers of walleye and sauger this time of year 
All though this is primarily a mid day walleye pattern for me in this time frame, the past 2 trips on the river have left me empty handed in the walleye department but the numbers of sauger have well than made up for the lack of walleye. I am still not quite sure why I am seeing all these pig sauger in 8’-12’ of water right now 
. Sure, in late February to early March when the big female sauger start to stage for the spawn, but right now the walleye should be inhibiting these shallower waters instead of the saugers. Just another one of those river mysteries that is going to have to go unsolved for me at this point 
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Best depths for me have been in the 8’ to 12’ depths in the early am. I have not fished until dark on my last couple of trips but one would assume that these depths would again be prime time in the late afternoon hours as well. Once I have been losing contact with fish in the 8’-12’ depths, I have methodically slipped out in to 13’ to 16’ of water until I am able to connect with fish again. Mid day these depths have been best for my boat with an occasional fish in water up to 18’.
On Sunday I shared the boat with my dad and was later joined by my mom in the mid morning hours 
. The bite was very positive on this day with over 40 very nice saugers making it to the boat before quitting time at around 2:30pm. Fish were caught in every area we targeted except for one and it is a prime walleye area for me this time of year but went empty handed in the walleye category on this day 
. Dragging firecracker/chartreuse tail, oyster shell and pro-blue ringworms up river in the early am and then down river in the later morning hours was the program. Precision jig heads in the 1/16oz, 3/32oz, 1/8oz and 3/16oz sizes all had their time and place.
On Monday I shared my boat with Jeff Huxford, his dad Ralph and brother in-law Mike. I ran the same program as Sunday, dragging ringworms. The early morning bite was not very good for us on this trip, it wasn’t until around 8:00am that we found the depth and ringworm color preference for this day. Best depths were in the 14‘-16’range. Every sauger we caught on this trip was boated on a pro-blue ringworm with a black or sour apple precision head. It’s funny how some days the fish , even sauger, can be that particular about color 
. We did get bit short a couple of times on oyster shell ringies as well but were unable to get them in the boat. We ended our day right around 3:00pm with 26 nice saugers in the 15“-21” range and one walleye about 17” 
. Thanks again for spending a day in my boat guys. I look forward to doing it again in the near future! 
With the looks of the extended forecast, things are going to be a bit to cold out there for me in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully this report will help those that decide to hit the river in the blustery weather that will soon be upon us 
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See ya on the river!
Dustin,
Great report! I know you’re disappointed with the walleye bite but the quality of the sauger sure makes up for it.
John
Great report and great looking saugers!
Glad you got out with your folks! Looks like you have the dragging dialed in! Hope the weather stays civilized
Way to go Dustin,
You remain the SAUGER KING…..
Yes it will get VERY cold this weekend..
Jack..
Thanks for the report. I’ll be playing hooky on Wednesday so we’ll see how the bite is then.
Thanks for the report!
. Anybody remember the awesome dragging bite we had on NICE walleyes a couple Februarys ago? Maybe we can look forward to that this year.
Dragging was the game on Friday as well using those exact same ringy colors. I had a rod in each hand and actually had myself a double on 20 and 21″ saugs! Must admit that was kinda fun! Not much action on the eyes for me either with only one shorty for the day
Did spend some time looking for, and found some nice slab crappies!
Chris
Could you give a little advice on the dragging bite. Not sure at all of that presentation. What kind of structure do you target when using this method? Thanks for the article and pics!
Sure. I am targeting sand. Fish in the same areas as you would vertical jig for sauger and go a bit shallower. Just Make a long cast away from the boat and drift with the current. At times I will pull the boat down river with my trolling motor faster then the current.
When I go upriver I will make a long cast and slowly pull the boat up river with my trolling motor. I prefer to go up river in shallower water. It allows me to keep my jig up off the bottom more often, prevents snags.
Great report Dustin, I hear ya on the weather.
Jeremy
Millerman,
Jason Halfen has written a detailed article about dragging. I had a chance to preview it and know it will help you at getting started with the technique. Watch the In-Depth Fishing Article forum, it should be up this week.
John
Nice report
Based on the forecast, looks like it might be time to turn to ice fishing for a spell…
><(((>
Dustin,
Nice report and some great tips on dragging plastics.
Dandy looking saugers also.
Boog
hey guys, just thought of a ? are you able to feel the bottom, and do you keep your line tight all the time or leave a little slack in it. I gave this a shot on thanksgiving weekend up ther and found that a little slack works well some times
thanks KORY
Nice report.
Hey I like the flat water in your background, you should have been there today
Hope to see you on the water soon.
Sometimes I am feeling bottom continuously,pounding bottom, other times I will pull the boat a bit faster than the current to get my jigs up off the bottom and only make bottom contact once in a while.
I am always slowly pulling my pole forward and dropping my jig back on a semi tight line. Any time you can get a change in speed out a bait that is being pulled or trolled by the boat is going to result in more strikes in most instances
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Question for you guys. I don’t fish near as much and I maily fish pool 6. Below Winona dam. Since I’ve joined this site I have become a much better at fishing the river. One thing I have noticed very much. When the vertical bite is going real good(in late fall) you see a lot of dead shad every where. Just really got into the dragging 2 years ago and it opened a whole new concept. Do you think it is the difference of the fish having an easy feed and then they have to chase again? Last spring I did real good dragging K tails. Thanks. I don’t get out as much as I would like, but the guy I fish with said it’s been 4 years since my boat has’nt been on the water a least once a month.
Art,
This time of year you will see more dead, or dying shad floating/skittering across the water surface than in the Fall. I believe that is why dragging is very effective this time of year. The visibility of the water is very good, the fish are apt to be anywhere in the water column with the low flows and their strike zone is much bigger because of the clearer water. Slowly dragging a bait up or down river slowly lets them come from quite aways away to take a bait.