Anybody know how and where to catch saugeye on Kirby Lake at Abilene. My daughter and her husband live about 2 miles from there and their boys are getting old enough to want to go fishing. I have never been on the lake but have been reading about the saugeye stockings there.

I fish for them as often as I can and well I still dont know.... I have caught a couple on rattletraps late in the day. I have heard of others catching them on cut shad somewhere...

I am surprised those saugeye can even live in Kirby. It is such a filthy lake. It's hard to believe Saugeye, being fish that like colder (and cleaner) waters, can live in such a warm muddy lake. Catfish and carp I can see living there, but it sure seems like thier gills would clog up with all the floating mud. lol

Good luck out there.

I have only caught one on a tiny fluke crappie fishing late last fall

What is the largest saugeye theat you have seen caught there.
Llive bait or cut shad probably fished around the rocks should
work.

I don't know about anyone else, but I haven't seen any rocks except for a few small ones. Even when the lake dried up a few years ago it was just a big dirt bowl. Even calling it a lake is a stretch. I think at it's deepest point it's no more than 6-8 feet. If they'd dredge it to about 30 feet, it would stay a lot cleaner, clearer and much more conducive to fish propogation.

Thats a good description of what it was when it was dry a big dust bowl a big orange dust bowl.Would have been nice if they had dredged it whe it was dry.
I'm still gonna try to get up there one day and try the cats and carp.I just wish it was a little cooler and now dove season is near,so I'm not sure when I'm going to get up there.
Can you fish out there at night?

livebait
Mike

Thanks for the input guys. Doesn't sound like Kirby is real popular to most. I did read this about these fish so it might open up some options for those that brave the cold fishing months. Saugeye are light sensitive, so the best fishing is usually in the early morning and after the suns sets, as well as during overcast days. They tend to congregate around underwater structures and are generally found at greater depths than walleye. Saugeye have a habit of scattering during the summer, which can make it more difficult to catch them during this time. However, they are among the most cooperative species for winter fishing because they remain active in cold water.

Jigging and trolling are two popular methods of catching saugeye. Medium-sized crankbaits and live bait rigs are reliable when trolling. When jigging, leadhead jigs with hair, feather or plastic bodies are effective, especially when tipped with live bait. Traditional live minnows and nightcrawlers are the most productive live baits, whether fished on a live bait rig or tipped on a jig.

KG68 been there tried it. I have also reviewed the monthly distribution of the saugeye that the fisheries folks posted from last years testing. There are large 8lbs in there from the folks who net fish to check them. I have seen two floaters in the past couple weeks. The bottom is full of crappy houses now that the fisheries folks placed. This lake has had a ten pound fish come out of it last dec. Was in the newspaper. Any fish you catch out there is fat and strong because of a very healthy shad population. If you need shad for bait this is the place to get it.

I get my shad off the bridge there off 707 lol who doesnt. Anyways I have tried enough of this lake the last 2 weeks and i just leave so shad i meen sad i never get anything except i snaged a snack that got to close to me

I pretty much grew up in Abilene, my dad retired at Dyess AFB.

I used to fish Kirby alot, can remember catching lots of carp, and catfish.

It used to be a lake for HUGE Catfish, I remember when you went to the gatekeepers house to pay, they had these huge catfish heads nailed to boards near the entrance, guess those days are gone now.

Oh and yeah, lotta red dirt in Abilene, Im so glad I moved lol.

Laterz,
dafanman

I just saw a news report on KRBC that they pulled a stolen SUV out of Kirby lake,they said it had been there for 2 years,fish were flopping out of it as they pulled it out.
Thats probably where you guys are losing all that tackle..

livebait
Mike

Hmmm I wonder what part. I bet I though it was a crappie house.

who knows unless the car drove around every were I cast

lol...I feel your pain. There could be just one snag in an entire 4,000 acre lake, and I'd end up hitting that thing every time.