Is this a walleye or saugeye?

it's a saugeye.and a nice one at that

 

I agree that it is a walleye or a saugeye, or maybe even a sauger(?)

I think you should fillet it, freeze it, and overnight to me FedEx. I can only tell by taste.

 

Definitely a saugeye. On the other hand its been so long since I have caught one I might not know the difference.

 

Id have thought it was a walleye... how can you tell?
Does it have a longer face?

 

MOM,the saugeye normally has dark irregular splotches on it's body,along with black spots on the dorsal fin,which walleyes don't have.that's usualy the easiest way to tell the difference,but sometimes they can be confusing.

 

Itsa fish!

 

Thanks Misfit....
Hopefully, someday, I will get the chance to ask myself....

"Self... is this a Walleye or a Saugeye?"

 

Rick, your right on. You just beat me to it. But again Shorty is also right it is a FISH!!

 

dale,guess we can't put nothin' over on shortcake,can we?

 

Nope Rick, Shortsocks is right on top of things all right. The important word in your answer is "normally". When attempting to identify a Walleye or Saugeye by purely physical means, remember that a pure Walleye doesn't carry any Sauger color genes so is not going to exhibit any of those traits. A Saugeye, on the other hand, carries the color genes from both parents, and can look like either Mom or Dad. It's easy to tell if a fish IS a Saugeye but much tougher to tell for sure if it ISN'T. It's like trying to tell if Shortneck is a Deer hunter.............

 

LOL jim.i know just what you mean
i haven't yet figured that out either

 

That's definitely the best way to explain it. It can look like a walleye, a sauger, or most often a combination of the two. Although in the case of my baby sister she doesn't look like Mom or Dad. I wonder if that's called the "mailman" gene.

 

I read in the Walleye Insider magazine a couple of years ago that a study was conducted to see if fisheries biologists could identify a saugeye versus a walleye by sight. Guess what? The biologist could not reliably identify which species it was. Just food for thought for everyone. Don't forget that a fish's markings change based upon the surroundings it is in.

Joel

 

Man this thread was made for me!!!! My obsession for multi species fishing constantly requires me having to ID stuff... i have multiple field manuals and still hafta consult fish biologists rather regularly... (and yes often they get stumped too) So many environmental factors like water temp, what they are eating, specific 'strain' attributes, cross breeding, mutations, and whether your trying to ID a juvy fish... it's a nightmare! (but also fun)

I've mislabeled so many fish and revised my catches more than i can count- but i love the constant challenge.

Walleye vs. Saugeye, the general rules previosuly stated were right on target and I agree it's an Eye' lol... yea it's a SaugEYE

 

Itsa fish!!!!!!