Biological Facts, White River - Most High Adventure Outfitters

Sauger are a tasty and relatively abundant game fish native to southern Indiana rivers. Most sauger
in southern Indiana are caught in rivers below dams on winter spawning runs, however, they can be
caught year round. They are pisciverous, meaning they eat other fish species, and are usually caught
on minnows or minnow imitating lures.
Sauger are native to the East Fork of the White River, but for some unknown reason, they had
disappeared some years back (prior to the 1990's), from the 110-mile stretch of river above
William's Dam, near Bedford, and below the dam at Columbus.

The East Fork of the White River begins at Columbus, Ind., and flows approximately 190 miles south
and west through Indiana. It joins the West Fork of the White River to form the White River near
Petersburg in Pike County. During fish surveys in the early '90s, sauger were found below Williams
Dam, but no sauger were found upstream of the dam. DNR biologists decided to reintroduce sauger
to the upper stretch of the river. Because they are sought-after sport fish, the habitat was
appropriate, and because sauger serve as host for larvae of several native mussel species (which were
also having population problems in the 1990's).

The target area for the reintroduction effort was the upper 24-mile stretch of river between the
lowhead dam at Columbus and the lowhead dam at Rockford on the north side of Seymour. In order
to maintain genetic integrity, sauger broodstock were collected from below Williams Dam. Cikana
State Fish Hatchery developed techniques to spawn the fish, hatch the eggs and rear the fingerlings.

The first sauger fingerlings were released into the river below the Columbus Dam in June 1995.
Approximately 150,000 fingerlings have been stocked into the study area since 1995. Electrofishing
surveys in 1998 between Columbus and Seymour found only three fish from the 1996 stocking. The
number of sauger collected in 1999 increased seven fold, and included sauger stocked in 1996, 1998
and 1999. The largest sauger collected were 18- inches long.

Sauger up to 19.5 inches long have been caught by anglers below the Columbus and Seymour dams.
Sauger have also moved around the dam at Columbus. Anglers reported catching sauger in the
Driftwood River a few miles above the dam. One sauger swam upstream through the Driftwood River
into Sugar Creek and was caught east of Franklin, about 40 river miles upstream of Columbus

EAST FORK of White River is Home to Endangered Lake STURGEON

The East Fork of the White River is home to two species of sturgeon. Sturgeon are very unusual fish
with a prehistoric look to them. The shovelnose sturgeon is the more common and smaller species of
sturgeon and the Lake sturgeon is the larger species. Lake sturgeon can grow to seven feet in length
and weigh more than 100 pounds. They are quire rare. So rare, in fact, that it is listed on the
endangered species list for Indiana.

State Biologists have studied the lake sturgeon from the EFWR for several years. Captured sturgeon
weighed between 2.9 and 97 pounds. Their life span can exceed 100 years of age. Females don't
reach sexual maturity until 25 years of age and males don't mature until they reach 15 years of age.
The presence of the smaller specimens indicates that the sturgeon are indeed reproducing in the
EFWR.

Anglers may encounter lake sturgeon in the East Fork White River. The lake sturgeon is commonly
confused with the shovelnose sturgeon, the only other species of sturgeon found in Indiana. Anglers
can distinguish the fish by looking at the mouth. Shovelnose sturgeon have four small, fleshy lobes
along both the upper and lower lips, while lake sturgeon have only two lobes along the lower lip and
none along the upper lip. Lake sturgeon have a cone- shaped, rounded snout; shovelnose have a
shovel-shaped, flattened snout. Identification guidelines are in the DNR's Fishing Guide.

Be aware that it is illegal to harvest lake sturgeon due to their endangered status. If you hook one,
please photograph if possible, look for an aluminum dorsal fin tag and record the tag number, and
unhook and release the fish back to the water as gently and swiftly as possible. The call Indiana's
Endangered Wildlife Program, at (317) 232-4080 wit the tag information and whereabouts of the
catch.