Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - January/February 2013 - 43

Dave Keith was again my fishing partner. We’d launched the boat at the Leetsdale public ramp. We fished early in the afternoon near the mouth of Big Sewickley Creek, which enters the Ohio River a couple hundred yards below the Dashields L&D. The action was good, but the spot was a bit crowded. It was a Sunday, and a lot of folks were taking advantage of the warm weather and good fishing. Dave and I moved downriver, hitting several productive areas during the afternoon. As evening approached, we returned to the upriver area, this time sliding into a quiet pool adjacent to a long retaining wall along Leetsdale Industrial Park. A rock bar just upriver deflected the hard current. We anchored the boat alongside the current seam, casting minnow-tipped jigs into the still basin. Earlier in the day, the action had been good. Now, it was awesome. On nearly every cast either a sauger or walleye inhaled our jigs. The minnow supply gave out. The fish didn’t care. They still ate the jig, dressed only with a plastic body and marabou tail. When the tails got chewed off, they took jigs dressed with only a shred of body remaining. We fished an hour into darkness. They were still hitting when we finally pulled the anchor and called it a day. Both saugers and walleyes are native to the Ohio River. They are found in the same general areas and can be caught with the same fishing methods. Members of the perch family, they are quite similar in appearance. The white tip on the lower lobe of the tail, so prominent on the walleye, is missing

Ohio River extras

1. Public boat access areas are located at Kilbuck, Chestnut Street, Leetsdale, Rochester and Monaca. Additional information can be found at the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission’s website at www.fishandboat.com. 2. The United States Army Corps of Engineers publishes navigation charts for the Ohio River. They can be purchased in book form. You can also download individual charts for the river stretches you intend to fish. Each chart shows two to three miles of river. They are quite useful in locating features such as incoming streams. Visit www.lrp.usace.army.mil/nav/nav_Charts.htm. 3. Don’t expect public access ramps to be maintained during the winter. Be prepared to clear mud or a skim of ice from the base of the ramp. Carry some traction material and rock salt in case the ramp ices up toward evening. And, if conditions are marginal, don’t push the issue. The fish will still be there the next time. 4. Dress warm, even if the day is unseasonably mild. The water is still cold. Sitting on top of it is like sitting on an iceberg. Bring extra gloves, as they will get wet and become useless. Most importantly, wear your life jacket.

on the sauger. Saugers have more pronounced mottling on their sides. The sauger’s spiny dorsal fin is spotted, and the walleye’s dorsal fin is clear, with a black blotch at its base. Like walleyes, saugers are fine table fare. Anglers can creel six walleyes, with a minimum length of 15 inches. Saugers must be 12 inches to be legal, also with a limit of six. Finding Ohio River saugers and walleyes during the winter and early spring is a fairly easy task. Expect higher numbers of fish within the first couple of miles below the dams. Instinctively, these fish begin upriver migrations
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater • January/February 2013

PFBC website: www.fishandboat.com

http://www.fishandboat.com http://www.lrp.usace.army.mil/nav/nav_Charts.htm http://www.fishandboat.com

Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - January/February 2013

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