Since they are such an important part of the winter angling picture, a word on saugers is in order. Sauger populations are self-sustaining. In the Ohio, they tend to grow fast. Given a good forage base, they can attain a length of 12 inches or so by the fall of their second year. As many fast-growing fish do, though, physiologically they break down quickly, too.

Adult saugers have a high degree of mortality. Springs that provide poor reproduction conditions, which occur quite often, see little if any sauger production. This, coupled with adult mortality issues, equates into variable sauger population levels. For anglers, some years, they may catch a fish nearly every cast when the conditions are good. Other years, the yield is much lower.

Though not directly related to walleye fishing, another exciting aspect of the Ohio River Management Plan is the habitat enhancement component. Beginning in the Belleville Pool, nursery and spawning habitat will be constructed in select embayments. Expansion of this plan to other pools of the Ohio River is expected in years to come.

In that the word “pool” comes up often during discussions of navigable rivers, such as the Ohio, perhaps an explanation is in order. A network of lock and dam systems elevates the Ohio to the point that it can handle large industrial craft, such as barges and the push boats used to move them. The lock chambers permit the passage of boats, either from upriver or downriver, past the dam. Pools, as applied to the Ohio, are the river sections that stretch from one dam to the next.

A pool is named for the dam located at its downriver point. For instance, the Hannibal Pool of the river is the river section that runs from the Hannibal Locks and Dam, located near New Martinsville, upriver to the Pike Island Locks and Dam, a distance of about 43 miles. Pool lengths vary according to the height of the dam and the topography of the area.

Naturally, tailraces (the downriver discharge area below a dam) are named for the dam that creates them.

The Belleville tailrace is located directly below the Belleville Dam. Along West Virginia’s portion of the Ohio, there are seven separate lock and dams. The two most upriver dams -- Pike Island and Hannibal -- are found in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District. The remaining five -- which include Greenup, Robert C. Byrd, Racine, Belleville and Willow Island -- are located in the Huntington District.

Each district publishes navigational maps. Be sure you coordinate river areas you are interested in with the district in which they fall before ordering a book of river charts. Information on how to purchase Pittsburgh District river charts can be obtained online at www.lrp.usace.army.mil/nav/nav.htmn . Maps, in PDF format, can also be downloaded free of charge. Information on purchasing navigation chart books and downloadable maps from the Huntington District can be obtained online at www.lrh.usace.army.mil/navigation/.

The best walleye fishing tends to be found in the upriver portions of the Ohio River. Saugers are well distributed, and can be found throughout West Virginia’s portion of the river.