Walleye, Sauger or Saugeye?

Just wondering what you guys think this is, Pool 2.

Saugeye

I’d almost say Walleye………No spots on Dorsil Fin. Yes it’s got the coloring of a sauger…..I guess,I’m not gonna guess!

Did it have a white tip on the tail??? I’d say walleye. I think saugeye should still have spots on the dorsal fin with a white tipped tail.

Just my guess Whatsa

Probably a saugeye. Notice the solid black patch at the base of the dorsal fin–pure sauger don’t have that. The lower tail fin is clipped out of the picture, but I bet there was a decent-sized white spot there. I don’t see the sauger body patches, but I think I see some saugerish black spots on the fins.

There are more than just 50/50 walleye-sauger crosses swimming around out there. Saugeye occur naturally in the Mississippi (they are stocked in reservoirs in Iowa), and are unusual among hybrids in that they are fertile, and can breed with walleye, sauger, or other saugeye. As a result, there are 3/4, 7/8, and 15/16 mixes of walleye and sauger in the river, too. I catch a few fish each year in the Mississippi that at first look like typical pure strain walleye or sauger. On closer inspection, these “saugers” have a larger white spot on the tail than is typical, or the “walleye” have a smaller white tail spot, or faint patches on its side.

I too would have to say 100% walleye.

i would say waugeye

100% walleye

WALLEYE

I agree with Vikefan on this. There are all kinds of percentages of crossbred walleye/sauger/saugeye in the river. I’ve listened to a couple fisheries biologists talk about it. The best method I’ve heard is that if the skin on the cheeks is rough then it is a saugeye. The skin on the cheeks of walleyes are smooth. The fish in the photo does appear to have the markings of a sauger and not the more bar-like markings of a walleye and the second dorsal fin has spots like that of a sauger. It has the black blotch on the main dorsal fin like a walleye but it is difficult to tell if that fin also has any spots. I’d have to guess it is a saugeye. Here in Iowa the DNR agents have been instructed that if it has a white tip on the tail that it is to be considered as a walleye. I have always wondered about that because I’ve caught a few fish through the years that were obviously saugeyes and several of these fish had white tipped tails. A friend of mine caught a 23″ saugeye about a month ago. It was without a doubt a saugeye but also had the white tipped tail.

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100% walleye

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I still say saugeye,but without tasting it I can’t be 100% sure.

It did have a little white on the tale and its about the 3rd one Ive seen this year with these characteristics.

We’ll call it New P2 strain Eyeeeee……

I say saugeye

I caught a 25″ on pool 3 casting a wingie that absolutely inhaled a crank and ripped two of the gills so I had to clean it, it looked exactly like that, concensus at Everts was that it was a Saugeye.

Its a saugeye just like the one I got a few weeks ago on P2. If you look close at there heads they have these weird sqigley lines.

I thought that walleye and walleye could breed (fertilize), Saugar and saugar could breed but if a saugar and a walleye bread there off spring the saugeye could not??

Old wise tail??

walleye

Life History Notes: SAUGEYE

COMMON NAME: Saugeye

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Sander canadense

IDENTIFICATION: Saugeye are a cross of the walleye and sauger. The dark bars on the dorsal fin are the best identifying characteristic for this fish. Sharp canine teeth, dark blotches on the sides, and a white tip on the lower tail also help identify the saugeye.

LIFE HISTORY: Saugeye are created by crossing walleye eggs with sperm from a sauger. The result is a fast growing fish that has excellent survival abilities. This also makes it ideal for stocking into Ohio reservoirs and rivers; however, saugeye can create some problems. Generally, most hybrid species do not reproduce, but saugeye do occasionally reproduce with walleye and sauger. This can create genetic problems in the fishery.

Life History Notes: Sauger

COMMON NAMES: Sauger, Jack salmon

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Sander canadense

IDENTIFICATION: Sauger look very similar to walleye and saugeye. The body is cylindrical with dark blotches along the sides. They have sharp canine teeth and large cloudy eyes. They can be distinguished from walleye by the large dark spots on the spiny dorsal fin.

LIFE HISTORY: Sauger spawn in the spring when water temperatures reach the upper 40s. Females lay between 10,000 to 50,000 eggs. The eggs are adhesive and stick to vegetation, sticks, and stones until they hatch in 10 days or more. Sauger prefer to forage for aquatic insects, crayfish, and small fishes during periods of low light (dawn and dusk).

Here http://wfs.sdstate.edu/wfsdept/Publications/Willis/369-F%20Billington%20hybridization_Percis.pdf is a link to a PDF file containing the results of a study done by Professors Neil Billington and Rachael N Koigi from Troy State in Troy, Alabama.

Drs. Billington and Koigi conducted a study of the walleye and sauger populations in Lewis and Clark Reservoir (Missouri River) in South Dakota for South Dakota State University. Despite the fact that saugeye have never been stocked in Lewis and Clark, saugeye, and various combinations of sauger and walleye second-generation hybrids, are common in the upper Missouri River. Billington and Koigi note that these mixtures are due to the fact that saugeye are able to reproduce succesfully with walleye, sauger, or other saugeye.

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COMMON NAME: Saugeye

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Sander canadense

however, saugeye can create some problems. Generally, most hybrid species do not reproduce, but saugeye do occasionally reproduce with walleye and sauger. This can create genetic problems in the fishery.

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So is that where the few hunch backs that I have caught came from??? I caught about 3 eyes that looked like they needed a wheel chair! Amazing they could swim, but I did catch them trolling so they can move quick..

Good info Thanks!!

I think that is a walleye. There are no markings on the dorsal fin.

But there’s 13 spines or dorsel bones

It looks to me to be a saugeye but i am no expert on the matter.