Arkansas River tailwaters; Mississippi main channel.
DIET
Shad, minnows, small crawfish.
BEST BAITS
Jig & minnow · Small crankbaits · Bottom-bouncers
SEASONAL PATTERN
🌱SPRING
☀️SUMMER
🍂FALL
BEST❄️WINTER
Summer: Deep current channels.
ANGLER INTEL · RIGHT NOWSCOUT & ADAPT
DEPTH
20–30 ft
thermocline / deep ledges
TIMING
Wait for weather change
TOP LURE · LIVE
Jig & minnow
slow day — give them an easy meal
TACKLE
Medium spinning, 8 lb line
TECHNIQUE · Moving bait on main-lake points — match forage size
ANGLER STATS
SPAWN 38–50°F
BITE
70
FIGHT
68
STEALTH
86
FUN FACT
Sauger handle muddy, fast water that walleye won't touch. They have an even better tapetum lucidum — turbid-water vision that makes them apex predators in the lower Arkansas.
STATUS
Secure
Native · Percidae
PFG SIGNAL · EST78°F · Lake Dardanelle● SCOUT 60
YOUR CARD · ACTIONSNOT YET COLLECTED
🪪 ID marks
Spotted dorsal fin
Saddles on sides
No white tail tip
💡 Tips
Fish below dams in winter
Vertical jig the deep slot
Slow
🌙 Lunar profile
MED-HIGH Lunar ImpactBest phases: Full Moon, New Moon
☀️ Daytime
Deep river channel structure and current breaks in daylight. Tapetum lucidum eye similar to Walleye — thrives after dark.
🌙 Nighttime
Active night feeder. Full Moon amplifies feeding windows along main river channels and below dams.