“…I will make ye fishers of men..”

My favorite fish at Lake Evergreen in the hybrid walleye/sauger, known as a saugeye. They feed exactly like walleyes and are more colorful. This story is about my pursuit of this fish and all of the fishing tackle mistakes I made. 

Walleyes are the most prized fish for eating in the North Country. Cold natural lakes hold these bottom dwelling fish which have a delicate taste. If you are from Minnesota or Wisconsin and have ever fished, you fished for walleyes. Walleyes are not native to Illinois except northern Mississippi River and  Lake Michigan.  Downstate our natural water areas are rivers which hold the native sauger, a smaller cousin of the walleye.

I have fished for walleyes in many places under many conditions. My first experience was in Eli, Minnesota in June 1970. Connie and I had taken our first vacation/honeymoon there with some friends of my college roommate. We fished with the family of the friends and, on the final day, they took me walleye fishing on the lake that serves as the Eli Minnesota airport.

It was cold and windy and I was miserable. Fortunately Connie had elected to stay in town. The locals call this “walleye chop” and is supposed to be the best conditions for catching the much prized fish. They explained the long array of weights, hooks, and spinners needed to catch walleyes. They also told me the “count to 15” technique.  That is you feel the fish pick up the bait, count to 15 then set the hook. I never got it right. We didn’t catch any, and all I got was cold and wet.

Many years later I returned to Minnesota Mil Lac Lake to fish for walleyes with my step Dad, Al, and his sons. We had to travel 7 miles out from the shore to find the perfect underwater rock reef that held the big ones. Since Al’s family took this trip annually, and were quite successful, I listened carefully to the technique for catching the Minnesota walleye.

I was told to hook up a “Lindy Rig” with special weights and spinners and hooks. I was also told to use a “worm blower” to put air into a nightcrawler to get it to float just above the bottom where walleyes like to be. I was told to carefully drop all of this rig over the side and gently move it up and down. When I felt a fish, I was to count to 15 before setting the hook.

Needless to say, I failed at this technique and couldn’t really feel the fish through all the rigging. We fished several days including one in the “walleye chop” weather and I eventually caught a fish, but it was not a walleye. 

When I returned to Illinois, I went Bass Pro shops to buy walleye tackle. I bought weights, hooks, spinners,  etc. The long leaders of tackle required special holders to wrap the leaders around. I wanted to be ready to catch walleyes the next time I tried.

I was unsuccessful. Then Connie bought me a guided fishing trip at Lake Evergreen. I told the guide I wanted to catch saugeyes. He took Don and me out and gave us deep diving plastic crank baits that resembled the local bait fish, gizzard shad. We went up and down the deepest part of the lake and did not hook a single fish. 

Never to be discouraged, I made another trip to Bass Pro and acquired several deep diving crank baits. I wanted to be prepared for saugeyes.

 On one trip, we were fishing at local Dawson Lake for crappies. I was with Tim, husband of my former secretary, Delia. After no luck, we started to return home, but stopped in the deepest part of the lake. I had a white “curly bug” jig I used for crappies. We were almost out of nightcrawlers, so I put a half worm on the jig. Then I got a strike and it was a big fish.

There are lots of catfish in Dawson, and catfish live on the bottom like walleyes. This fish stayed down and I was sure it was a big cat. After fighting it for several minutes, I saw it briefly on the surface. Tim grabbed the net, and we brought aboard a 27” long saugeye.

Move ahead several years. I continued to try and catch the elusive fish at Lake Evergreen. I would use all of the gear I had acquired with no success. Then one late summer afternoon, I was crappie fishing back in one of the coves with my homemade “Rickenstein” which is a homemade version of the curly bug to which  I added a part nightcrawler . It is the lure at the top of the photo . I felt a fish and immediately set the hook. Up came a 15” saugeye.

The following spring, I found saugeyes in the east end of the lake. They were in the old creek channel, biting on white curly bugs and half nightcrawlers. Later that spring they have moved on. I found them again in the coves on the northwest side of the lake.

Since then, I have continued to fish for saugeye in the coves. I never use any of the expensive gear I own. Saugeyes like the simple white twister tale and a half nightcrawler. I never count to 15 unless I am counting how many I catch. The following are from the past few weeks..

Experience showed me the walleye gear from Bass Pro is successful only if  they are following  the Bible,  for they are "fishers of men".  They have caught me often. The equipment is not useful for "fishers of saugeyes."