About Sauger
Sauger are highly migratory members of the true perch family, Percidae, and resemble the closely related walleye. They occur across central and eastern North America, and typically inhabit large, turbid rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. Sauger are popular sportfish in much of their range. They were historically common in the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence River and Lake Champlain watersheds in New York State, but are now considered critically imperiled and in need of reintroduction.
Management Efforts
Allegheny River
Sauger occur in the lower Allegheny River in Pennsylvania but upstream expansion into New York is blocked by the Kinzua Dam. Thus, in 2014 DEC began a stocking program to establish a self-sustaining sauger population in the upper Allegheny River watershed. With the help of partners in West Virginia and Kentucky, sauger have been successfully stocked for the past ten years. Monitoring efforts by DEC and other agencies have documented good survival and recruitment of stocked sauger, along with excellent growth and evidence of natural reproduction. These are encouraging signs for the recovery program, which will be comprehensively evaluated in 2025.
Reports by Water
For reports of sauger surveys, visit the Region 9 (Western New York) Fisheries Management and Research Page.
