Sauger or Saugeye

I fish the Yough at least once a week. Sunday I was fishing below the pier in Connellsville and I caught a sauger or saugeye. This is the first one I ever caught and I've been fishing there for years. Sunday evening I was fishing above St. Rita church in Connellsville and I caught another one. Are they becoming more common in this area? How do you guys fish for them? I use artificials only and caught both on spoons. BTW, they didn't fight at all. It was like reeling in a stick.
 

I've caught more Walleye and Sauger this year than I did last year.  Here is a good article on these fish I found somewhere else.
 
The Sauger (Sander canadensis) is a fish which closely resembles its more popular cousin the walleye. The sauger, however, are usually smaller and will tolerate murky waters unlike the walleye. Other distinguishing characteristics are spots on its dorsal fin, and its brassy color. Although the average sauger is only a couple of pounds or so, the world record weighed 17 pounds, 12 ounces. Sauger generally inhabit rivers more so than lakes and reservoirs. Being part of the fresh water Percidae family, it is highly prized for its tasty white meat.

Hybridization between sauger and walleye is not uncommon; the hybrids are referred to as saugeye, and exhibit traits of both species. Being intermediate in appearance between the two species, they are sometimes difficult to differentiate from either species, but they are best distinguished by the dark blotches characteristic of the sauger.

Physical description
There are three main physical differences between the Walleye and the Sauger. First, the sauger has no white area on the tail, and walleye does. Second, saugers have specks or dots in the first dorsal fin. Third, saugers are generally smaller in size than the walleye.See photos below

Walleye image: Note the white on the lower lobe of the tail. This is clearly a walleye.


Sauger image: Note the lack of white on the tail of the lower lobe, and the specks on the first dorsal fin. This is clearly a sauger.


Saugeye image: The fish in this image is a Saugeye, a walleye-sauger hybrid. It can be somewhat tricky to properly identify a saugeye versus a sauger (like the sauger, they have no white tail lobe). Saugeyes most commonly have fewer dorsal specks that true saugers.



Habitat
The sauger is very adapted to rivers and other turbid environments, whereas the walleye prefers cooler, clearer water.

Reproduction
Spawn between March and June in pairs or small aggregations.

Interaction with humans
Anglers commonly make no differentiation between the walleye and sauger, both intentionally and unintentionally. The flesh and taste of the sauger is identical to walleye, to most individuals. Especially with smaller specimens (i.e. those under 15"), most fisherman and even government Natural Resource agencies treat walleye and sauger identically.

all i've ever caught out of the yough were walleye and sauger, no saugeye. they've been in the yough as far up as connellsville since at least the early '90's. and no they are not sterile, because they are members of the same family, percidae(sic)

I've caught saugeye that looked like sauger,but they did have a faint white  area on the tail lobe, but clearly there !??!

Been catching Sauger for years in the Yough. From S. C'ville **** clear down to Layton for me. That's the stretch I fish. No not much fight in those guys, a few head shakes and that's it. I have a buddy that caught on 18" but most are about 10 to 12 inches. Fun to catch sometimes when nothing else is hitting, I'm pretty sure they school like Walleye.

Walleye, sauger or saugeye, they all cook up the same. Tasty!

YES great post by Smallhook, That's how to be helpful on here. Hats off to guys like you