Lower Pepin Report

Fished the harbor area by the pier on 5-14-02 . Got there around 8:30 am and caught 1 nice saugeye and 2 decent saugers. Drifting lindy minnow and jigging minow. Then fished over by Deer Island and had no luck. Even tried some flooded timber and nothing. Went to LaCaupolis and started drifting Wisc side and caught 1 14inch sauger in 14 feet and a couple of sheephead below the willows. I decided to move to the red bouy and fished 18 to 20 feet and caught another real nice saugeye and a couple more 14 and 15 inch walleyes and a couple more saugers. All on lindy rig minnow and 1 walleye ate my sonar. Dozen fish altogether but a beautiful day it was. FF

ps; I believe the 2 were saugeye as they had both the white tail tip and spots on their dorsal fin ?

correct me if I am wrong but most sauger have a white tip on there tail fin it is just a little less distinct the younger they are….. ????? I am no expert but that is what I have noticed….. unless I catch a shitt load of saugeye….

well Mavz.. I would love to correct you…. but I think you are correct… its not unusual for sauger to have a white tip on their tail….. I seem to remember that John Pitlo said that is NOT a definitive ID for saugeye….

but the Ohio DNR had this too say…… sooooo I just dont KNOW what to say… except that lots of the “sauger” I catch have white on their tails and only a few dont…. does that mean the pure sauger is a rare breed? but in Ohio they say saugeye tend to average 4#? wow…..

DESCRIPTION: These species are often confused with the close relative, the Walleye. The Sauger is generally smaller than the Saugeye, averaging 2 lbs. The average Saugeye is around 4 lbs. Saugeyes are an offspring of a female Walleye and a male Sauger. Identification of these fish can be difficult at times. The Sauger is slimmer than the Saugeye, with no white tips on their fins. They also have darker markings on their fins and backs than that of the Saugeye. The Saugeye on the other hand relates more closely to the Walleye. The white tips on the fins are not as distinct as that of the walleye, and the Saugeye has dark blotches on it’s dorsal fin.

Okay, I give up . But they were both nice size around 18 or 19 inch. I personally dont care as long they fight good and if I desire they taste good. I dont think I could tell the difference in a Sauger or Saugeye or Walleye if it was on my plate seasoned to perfection. All I do know is the good Lord gave us some of the best resources in the world to enjoy and I for one will enjoy them till I die.

In Minnesota If it has white on the bottom of its tail fin it is not a “Sauger”.

The importance of knowing fish ID is relative to size limits.

MN DNR description of a Sauger

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fish_and_wildlife/fish/sauger.html

You have made an excellent point. That is how I decide to take some “keepers” home. A 14″ sauger with NO white tip can go into frying pan, white tip, it goes back in water. JLK

I think one of the best ways two tell the difference between a walleye and a sauger is that the sauger has spots on the top dorsal fin where the walleye has none. I rarely look for the white tip on the tails. Just my two cents.

My next question is if the DNR cant tell Saugeyes from Walleyes (not saugers-we know what these are) then how in the hell are we supposed to know if we catch a Saugeye?????? HMMMMM

The simple answer is if it’s not 15 inches and there is a question, release it. As far as identifying the fish, 99% of the sauger have SOME kind of white mark on their tail. It may only be a small streak on the bottom, but it is there. The saugeye will have a lot more distinct white mark than the sauger.

I look for the spots on the dorsal fin also, So far I haven’t had any problems with the C.O.s ! If indoubt, I don’t take the chance, I throw it back, I don’t want to ruin a good day of fishing !! RE: Check out the rules and regulation state hand out Booklet, It has a very good explaination !!! I carry one with me.

Richard

Keep a tight line !!!