An Arkansas angler ended up breaking a state record by accident, taking what he thought was a walleye to get measured at the ranger’s office.
On his third cast of the day on Lake Frierson, Chris Owen landed a nearly double-digit saugeye; he just did not know it. Thinking he landed a decent walleye, he tossed the fish in the cooler to give to a buddy to make a few meals out of.
At the end of the trip, Owen uncharacteristically decided to turn around and stop in at the park ranger’s office to have the fish measured. According to the Paragould Daily Press, the ranger brought out a scale and told him that he had a state record, informing him that the fish was in fact a saugeye, which are stocked in Lake Frierson.
The 9-pound, .02-ounce saugeye crushed the old Arkansas record of 6.4 pounds and instead of heading to his buddy’s grill, the fish will be sent to the taxidermist.
The saugeye is the hybrid of a male sauger and a female walleye. The best way to identify the saugeye is by the dark bars and vertical spots between the spines of the front dorsal fin.
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