Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Saugeye

Hey all, we have done some test netting and trapping in 6 grow out ponds and have some news to report tomorrow to make the official announcement.
Leighann has the info and necessary paperwork in place.
All I can say right now is if anyone has any questions about Saugeye and where they fit in, ask away.

I’ll start. What’s a saugeye?

Sauger/Walleye hybrid

Dave, the Saugeye have established a name with state agencies as the best tool to use as a control fish for either massive populations of small or stunted panfish. Nobody has a good answer to why but they prefer the shape of small panfish species, add in the hybrid vigor and you have a panfish eating machine. Most states that grow them are using them where Walleye don't recruit well, or in enough numbers it's worth the effort.. Here's the key..Saugeye do well in more turbid, warmer water conditions than Walleye but taste is the same. Saugeye are also faster growing.

Snipe,

Congrats on your impending Saugeye success!

1.) Recruiting better in ponds compared to walleye is a pretty low bar. What type of recruitment might people expect in ponds from 0.5 to 5 acres?

2.) What are the geographic restraints for survival? (Southern limits?)

3.) What are the geographic restraints for thriving? (Southern limits?)

4.) Does their excellent reputation for good control of small panfish also apply to crappie? I am envisioning getting a good crappie population established in a pond for a few years, and then stocking a fairly large number of Saugeye to hammer the crappie recruitment and eat any stunted crappie.

Imagine how good the table fare would be from a pond with large crappie AND large saugeye!

With intermediates being stocked, recruitment will be much higher than walleye, a lot of things come into play there, predator base present, etc..
Thriving populations are reported in 2 Tx impoundments, several Ok locations but the fact we have good success in shallow ponds/lakes that WAE won't survive in says quite a bit.

Crappie were the first we noticed a change in structure with and wasn't expecting that. They began using them to thin crappie and found later that BG size was increasing as well.

Also are used as just additional fishing opportunity in some cases due to growth rates and meat flavor. Most folks holding a saugeye can't tell it's not a walleye untill you point a few things out.

I guess I should wait for the announcement, but these sound really interesting.

What will be the availability of these to the average pondmeister?

I have an older neighbor that has a good sized pond and he is over run with stunted white crappie, if you take 500 out one yr you will have nice sized crappie for a yr or so and then they are right back to over populating and stunted. I just simply have a hard time keeping up with them, especially now that I have my own pond I am managing and fishing in, mostly to keep up with progress and fish growth.

I can see where a number of these would do wonders for him. I am a huge fan of BC but not as fond of the WC, they are way more prolific and don't make nearly as nice of a fillet, especially when even slightly underfed.

Thinking out of box here, but do they bullheads?

I would bet they are effective in controlling juvenile bullheads, being that they are bottom feeders as well, and I know walleye love small catfish.

Ok, I think things are in order to announce Saugeye are now officially available to purchase by the public for pond stocking.
Test netting/trapping shows they are 5-7" a few days ago. We've hauled about 200 back to indoor tanks to see how they handle in 100 deg weather and these are some tuff fish..
I'm officially in the Resource Guide now and anyone on the forum can use that info or contact me through PM for details.
The Saugeye are a bit different than Walleye in recommended stocking rates due to their aggressive nature and the intended goals, and anyone interested, I would like to discuss this one on one because we have seen the effects of over stocking these.
I'd be glad to discuss most of this on open forum, but each situation will be slightly different depending on expected outcome.
I might add that this was not an easy task.. Obtaining Sauger stock to fertilize my WAE eggs took some time and some paperwork, a lot of planning and about 70 acres of water to grow these out.
Depending on orders, we are ready to start pulling fish in the next few days so if you are interested, please PM, and let me know what you are looking for.
All PB members ordering will also be helping to support PondBoss, as I am giving back an amount yet to be determined, to PB for the support and help with this project.

Exciting stuff Kenny! I'll be in touch!

Excited to see what these do in the Ponds!!!!!!

Hoping they help Control Young Bullheads.


Steve Thorburn
Ellsworth Co. KS