The following are fishing methods used to catch this fish:
They can be distinguished by several factors, most noticeably, the sauger has distinct dark spots on the dorsal fin. The walleye may have dark streaks or blotches on the dorsal fin, but they are less distinct than the spots of the sauger and may not be present. Also, the walleye has one large dark blotch at the base of the last few spines of the dorsal fin, which is not present in the sauger. The sauger has 17-20 soft-rays in the second dorsal fin versus 19-22 in the walleye. Identification is complicated by the fact that the sauger is known to hybridize in nature with the walleye. This hybrid is commonly referred to as a saugeye. The sauger is also smaller than the walleye.