Mr. Chapman caught the 27.68-inch, 8.73-pound fish from East Lynn Lake in Wayne County on October 15, 2006 using a Rat-L-Trap for bait. Chapmans catch establishes a new West Virginia record for both length and weight. The previous length record for saugeye was a 27.44-inch fish caught by Rick Dunlap from Stonewall Jackson Lake in 2005. The previous weight record for saugeye was a 7.55-pound fish caught by Brian Moore. Mr. Moores fish was also caught from East Lynn Lake in 2005.

Saugeye are a hybrid fish produced in hatcheries by crossing a female walleye with a male sauger, according to Bret Preston, Assistant Chief of the Wildlife Resources Section. Reservoirs such as East Lynn and Stonewall Jackson were stocked each year with saugeye fingerlings until 2001, when pure walleye fingerling stockings began. The last stockings of saugeye are reaching large sizes and more records may be caught within the next few years.

Nov. 20, 2006