Virginia now has an official State Record Saugeye. Mike Miller used a crankbait to net the 6-pounder on the Staunton River.
The record fish measured 26.25-inches long, with a 14-inch girth at Bobcat’s Bait and Tackle in Clarksville, Va. The prized catch was inspected by a state fisheries biologist, and the Virginia records keeping committee reviewed the record applications and verified Miller’s catch as a state record saugeye.
Saugeye is a hybrid species in the perch family, created by crossing a female walleye with a male sauger. Saugeyes were first stocked in Virginia in 2013. Being a hybrid and thus sterile, the fish grow quicker that their parents because they don’t spawn.
Saugeyes have tannish yellow to gold-colored sides with distinct dark blotches or saddles extending from the dorsal to the ventral side of the fish. Saugeyes have abundant rough scales on their cheeks while walleyes and saugers only have a few cheek scales.
Similar techniques used to catch walleyes and saugers also work for saugeyes. Saugeyes generally are less finicky feeders than walleyes, so are easier for anglers to catch, making them a good choice for fisheries stocking work.
Virginia has been stocking saugeyes for almost 10 years, because they survive well in rivers and lakes, and also in warm and turbid waters. Lake Orange received a stocking of Saugeyes fingerlings about 2 years ago, but it’s still a little early to measure the results.