Originally Posted by canyoncreek
With my experience with the level of inefficiency and some of the rather outdated mentality of the old timers in our state environmental agency, I would say it would be far easier to put a big sign on your fish hauling truck that says FRESH WALLEYE and show your 'walleye' stockers have had the required testing and stock them. You said hybridization happens naturally and that WAE and SAE are hard to distinguish visually so after they are in it would be hard to prove exactly what fish is what and how they got there.

I'm kidding of course as we don't want to go around laws but I would say all the fuss and red tape is much ado about nothing


Here are some ways to tell the difference between walleye and saugeye:

Dorsal fin
Walleye have no spots on their dorsal fin, while sauger have distinct spots. The hybrid of the two species, the saugeye, has spots and bars in the webbing of its dorsal fin.

Color
Walleye are generally more green throughout their body, while sauger are darker and have dark blotches from head to tail.
Size
Walleyes can stretch more than 30 inches or more, while saugers are typically the smaller of the two, averaging 12 to 18 inches in length.
Cheek scales
Sauger have lots of rough scales on their cheek while walleye and saugeye only have a few cheek scales. Walleye cheek scales are smooth.
Tail tip
If you see a white tail tip, it's a walleye. No white tip, it's a sauger.
Habitat
Walleye live in rivers, natural lakes and reservoirs, in both clear and turbid, as well as both shallow and deep water. Saugeye are highly adaptable to most lake and river environments and are tolerant of turbid (murky) waters.

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