An evaluation of angler harvest of walleye and saugeye in a Kansas reservoir.

ABSTRACT The saugeye (walleye [Sander vitreus] x sauger [S. canadensis]) has been stocked across the midwestern United States to provide large-bodied percid fisheries in systems that are unsuitable for walleye or sauger. Although the saugeye often exhibits faster growth than sauger and better stocking survival than walleye in warm, turbid reservoirs, a common justification for stocking saugeye is the belief that it is more vulnerable to angling than the walleye, particularly during summer. Direct comparisons of walleye and saugeye harvest have not been conducted, therefore, patterns of walleye and saugeye harvest were evaluated in Glen Elder Reservoir, Kansas. We tagged 1,438 walleyes and 289 saugeyes with Carlin dangler tags during 2001–2003. The percentage of tags returned was nearly identical between taxa; 44.6% of the tagged walleyes and 46.0% of the tagged saugeyes were harvested. Similarly, 81.1 % of the walleyes and 81.6% of the saugeyes were harvested during April-June. Few fish were harvested dur...