Sauger or walleye

Is this a sauger, walleye or hybrid?

State says its a sauger

http://www.ncwildlif..._3c2_sauger.jpg

Body shape and white tip on tail says walleye to me though it does seem to have large saddles typical of sauger.

White tail tip makes me think Walleye, too.

Brian

I'm going to say neither but it is really hard to tell from that photo... It has large saddles which are characteristic of sauger but as has already been noted it also has a white tip on the tail and a very deep body. My conclusion from this is this fish looks like the saugeye (hybrid between a walleye and sauger) that Ohio stalks by the millions every year. I know a few other states also use this cross and it is entirely possible some good intending angler released such a fish in NC. In Ohio these fish regularly reach 5-7 pounds and our record is up to 14.04 pounds! To be conclusive of this you would need a clear shot of the first dorsal fin. Also it should be noted that this hybrid does occur naturally upon occasion.

This is about an 8inch young saugeye from one of the state hatcheries in Ohio.
 Walleye x Sauger Hebron State Fish Hatchery August 2009 by BZ.JPG   143.88KB   1 downloads

Looks like a saugeye to me. I would say that it does not look like a walleye to me. The white spot on the bottom of the tail and it's oddly shaped, a it too round.

Walleye on top Sauger on bottom.

Edited by donkeyman876, 09 January 2010 - 09:01 PM.

Fish is from 1971 and was caught in Lake Norman, NC