Sauger

according to IDNR information, walleye were stocked in Carlyle lake from 1974 until 1998. Stockings were halted because of poor returns. However, people having been catching walleye in the spillway.

The stocking goal for Carlyle Lake is 500 sauger fry/acre annually. This was met in 1996 and 1997. In 1998 fry stockings totaled only 9,000,000 as poor weather conditions prevailed during the spring tournament when brood fish are collected.

Stockings for 1999 will include 11.5 million sauger fry, as available.
800,000 fry will be reared in the newly completed Hazlet East Nursery Pond to a 2" size.

Fair to good fishing should be experienced in 1999 as the population matures. Average size of legal sauger should be about 1¼ lbswith fish to 2½ lbs present.

Must be 14 inches long or longer.

Limit six (6) per day (walleye &/or sauger).

Characteristics

Spawning begins when water temperatures reach 45-50 Fahrenheit. Preferred areas are main-lake shoals or the clear, flowing tailwaters of impoundments and river tributaries. Depth preference is 1-5 feet, where females deposit eggs at night over gravel bottoms.

Fishing Methods

Walleye and sauger tend to congregate in schools and are typically found on or near the bottom of a lake or river. Effective methods include trolling shad-pattern and multi-colored crankbaits and spoons, and live nightcrawlers over humps, long points and breaklines.

Species	Illinois State Record	North American Record
Sauger	5 lb. / 12.5 oz. - 7/30/67 Mississippi River; Jo Daviess County	8 lb. / 12 oz. - 10/6/71 Lake Sakakawea, ND
Walleye	14 lb. / 0 oz.- 1961 Kankakee River; Kankakee County	25 lb. / 0 oz. - 8/1/60 Old Hickory Lake, TN