The sauger fishing on the upper stretches of pool 4 has been going strong for about 2 weeks. Great numbers of fish from 15 to 23 inches have been the norm for people in my boat over that time frame.
Many different presentations have been taking fish but my go to method has been a double rapala rig fished behind a three-way swivel. Original floating raps in a variety of colors fished one behind the other with about a 24 inch leader in between is the norm for this rig.
Typically #9 or #7 are the favorite sizes but we have been throwing in a #5 or #11 just to keep the fish honest. The best combination as of late is a #9 in front and a #7 of a completely different color in the back. If the fish show a preference for one size or color we make the switch. I try to stay away from getting all the eggs in one basket though as a sunny/cloudy switch can leave you high and dry. Kind of like the stock market.
Gold has always been a favorite color of mine when fishing raps but never so much as this year. Most of my fishing has been done on dark days and this may be a big factor in that preference.
I did tag this as a "sauger report" and that’s not to say we don’t catch any walleyes with this method but the primary take is saugers. We have been catching a few walleyes each day with some into the low 20" range. I would say though that lately, 90% of our take has been saugers.
One key element to pay close attention to is water depth. My GUESS is water temp, flow and fishing pressure all play a roll in this. I know last week we caught fish deeper than we usually do this early in the year. My assumption is it had more to do with how quickly the water temp dropped than the actual water temp itself.
I have fished with a lot of folks over the last couple of weeks and caught a bunch of fish on most trips. None however was more fun than my Saturday trip with the Mayers.
Trace Mayer won this trip at the "Kids Fishing Clinic" put on by the New Prague Sportsmans Club in February.
We hedged this trip a couple of times and finally got together on a time that would work. I really second guessed our decision as I looked at the weather forecast for Saturday. Well, tough kids and willing fish made for a memorable day. Watching and listening to kids catch fish is an absolute riot. Trace and his brother Mason are shown in the pics with a couple of their fish.
These two were all about throwing the bigger fish back as well, good job guys.
Thanks for the report Marty! Do you remove the rear treble on the front stick when running dual on your 3-way?
Ryan
I was watching you put on the show yesterday morning.
Your boat control is totally awesome.
Great Report Marty!
Great report
Thanks for sharing some of your 3 way rapala tips! As of late,this has been as consistant fish producer as any.It is really a outing saver for windy days too !
awsome report Marty!
Got to watch mason fight that nice eye as we were heading out and he had a battle on his hands! 
See ya this week again I am sure 
Very good report Marty.
Well done Marty, and welcome to the team. The 3-way/crank bite is one of my favorites….here’s hoping we keep enjoying it for a few more weeks. See you again soon.
Ryan,
I don’t remove any trebles. I do get asked that a lot but in all honesty have been told to add a treble on the back rap when getting short hits. Many times in the last few weeks we have been feeling fish hit or nose the bait and can’t get the hookset.
Something I need to experiment with.
Great post Marty! We are heading up tomorrow to hit pool 4. I haven’t tried 3 way too much and had a couple of questions. How long is your dropper to the weight from the 3 way and how long is your leader to the bait? Are you fishing more towards the lake or up towards the dam. Any info would be appreciated.
Great report Marty and it was good talking to you out there the last few weeks. You definitely put the hurt to the Sauger when the bite was less than stellar for the average redneck
Great report Marty! I will have to give the 3 way presentation a try.
Usually 40″s to the first rap, 24″s to the second rap and 12 to 18″s to the dropper. Weight really varies on the current and depth. Went up to 3 and 4 ozs on Tuesday.
What a great thing to do donate your time and energy to give a couple of kids a day they will never ever forget.
Way to go Marty my hats off to you.
Great report allso
Great report Marty. I’m deffinately going to be giving the double stick baits a try next time I’m 3 waying.
