May 9, 2006

SAUGEYE RESEARCH IN PROGRESS AT HOOVER RESERVOIR IN DELAWARE AND FRANKLIN COUNTIES
Angler assistance needed; $100 reward for any research saugeye that’s caught
read about Saugeye in Ohio

COLUMBUS, OH - New research conducted by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife in collaboration with The Ohio State University (OSU) will help fisheries biologists better understand the habits and movements of reservoir-stocked saugeye and improve anglers’ odds of catching these exciting sportfish.

“Saugeye are stocked in more than 60 reservoirs around the state,” according to Jonathan Sieber Denlinger, a fisheries biologist with the Division of Wildlife.

A saugeye is a hybrid cross between a male sauger and a female walleye. Saugeye average 1 pound and range between 13 and 16 inches in length.

The project, which is led by OSU graduate student Cassandra May, is two fold. The first step used sophisticated SONAR to map the bottom of Hoover Reservoir, identifying mud, sand, gravel and rock. Information collected will be overlaid with additional data regarding depths and seasonal patterns in temperature.

Researchers will then combine habitat information with lake-wide surveys of gizzard shad, the primary food of saugeye, and habitat-use information provided by two types of high-tech fish tags - archival tags and transmitter tags. In April, 25 saugeye were implanted with archival tags that collect and store temperature and depth information.

In the coming weeks, radio transmitter tags will be implanted into 20 additional saugeye that will allow biologists to track fish movements, determine their habitat preferences, and learn how the saugeye relate to gizzard shad.

Fish containing either of these high-tech tags are worth $100 each to lucky anglers who catch them and properly return them to the Division of Wildlife. The research saugeye are marked with plastic yellow markers protruding from their backs. These yellow markers contain contact information on how to return the fish and claim the reward. The fish need to be whole and not frozen (they can be refrigerated) to claim the reward and to provide quality data.

Tagged saugeye can be returned to three locations: