Walleye

The Walleye is a freshwater fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch. The walleye is sometimes also called the yellow walleye to distinguish it from the extinct Blue Walleye.

In some parts of its range, the walleye is also known as the walleyed pike, yellow pike or pickerel (esp. in English-speaking Canada), although the fish is related neither to the pikes nor to the pickerels, both of which are members of the family Esocidae.

Genetically, walleyes show a fair amount of variation across watersheds. In general, fish within a watershed are quite similar and are genetically distinct from those of nearby watersheds. The species has been artificially propagated for over a century and has been planted on top of existing populations or introduced into waters naturally devoid of the species, sometimes reducing the overall genetic distinctiveness of populations.

What the Name Walleye Means
The common name, "walleye", comes from the fact that their eyes, like those of cats, reflect light. This is the result of a light-gathering layer in the eyes called the tapetum lucidum which allows the fish to see well in low-light conditions. In fact, many anglers look for walleyes at night since this is when most major feeding patterns occur. Their eyes also allow them to see well in turbid waters (stained or rough, breaking waters) which gives them an advantage over their prey. Thus, walleye anglers will commonly look for days and locations where there is a good "walleye chop" (i.e. rough water). This excellent vision also allows the fish to populate the deeper regions in a lake and can often be found in deeper water.

The Walleye's Physical Description
The photo at the left is of a 10LB 29 1/2 inch Walleye I caught at Eagle Lake in Northwest Ontario Canada.

Walleyes grow to about 75 cm (30 in) in length, and weigh up to about 15 lb. The maximum recorded size for the fish is 42 in in length and 25 lb. in weight.

The walleye at the top of this trophy case was caught in 1982 by Al Nelson of Higden during a tournament sponsored by Pepsi Cola and Fairfield Bay on Greer's Ferry Lake Arkansas. The weight was 22 pounds 11 ounces. A new state record, it replaced a 21 pound 12 ounce runt caught in 1979 on the same lake. And by the way, that runt is the fish in the lower part of the display.
The growth rate depends partly on where in their range they occur, with southern populations often growing faster and larger. In general, females grow larger than males. Walleyes may live for decades; the maximum recorded age is 29 years. In heavily fished populations, however, few walleye older than 5 or 6 years of age are encountered.

Walleyes are largely olive and gold in color (hence the French common name: doré -- golden). The dorsal side of a walleye is olive, grading into a golden hue on the flanks. The olive/gold pattern is broken up by five darker saddles that extend to the upper sides. The color shades to white on the belly. The mouth of a walleye is large and is armed with many sharp teeth. The first dorsal and anal fins are spinous as is the operculum. Walleyes are distinguished from their close cousin the Sauger by the white coloration on the lower lobe of the caudal fin which is absent on the Sauger. In addition, the two dorsal's and the caudal fin of the Sauger are marked with distinctive rows of black dots which are absent from or indistinct on the same fins of walleyes.

The Walleye's Reproduction Habits
In most of the species' range, the majority of male walleyes mature at age 3 or 4. Females normally mature about a year later. Adults migrate to tributary streams in late winter or early spring to lay eggs over gravel and rock, although there are open water reef or shoal spawning strains as well. Some populations are known to spawn on sand or on vegetation. Spawning occurs at water temperatures of 43 to 50º F. A large female can lay up to 500,000 eggs and no care is given by the parents to the eggs or fry. The eggs are slightly adhesive and fall into spaces between rocks. The incubation period for the embryos is temperature-dependent but generally lasts from 12 to 30 days. After hatching, the free-swimming embryo spends about a week absorbing the relatively small amount of yolk. Once the yolk has been fully absorbed, the young walleye begins to feed on invertebrates such as fly larva and zooplankton. After 40 to 60 days, juvenile walleyes become piscivorous. Thenceforth, both juvenile and adult walleyes eat fish almost exclusively, frequently yellow perch or ciscoes, moving onto bars and shoals at night to feed. Walleye also feed heavily on crayfish, minnows, leeches, and earthworms.

As Table fare
The walleye is generally considered to have the best tasting flesh of any freshwater fish. Northern Pike de boned properly are right up there with the Walleye in taste.

Fishing For Ole-Marble-Eyes
Since walleyes have excellent visual acuity under low illumination levels, they tend to feed more extensively at dawn and dusk, on cloudy or overcast days and under choppy conditions when light penetration into the water column is disrupted. Although anglers interpret this as light avoidance, it is merely an expression of the walleye's competitive advantage over its prey under those conditions. Similarly, in darkly stained or turbid waters, walleye tend to feed throughout the day.

"Walleye chop" is a term used by walleye anglers for rough water typically with winds of 5 to 15 mph, and is one of the indicators for good walleye fishing due to the walleye's increased feeding activity during such conditions.

Because walleyes are popular with anglers, fishing for walleyes is regulated by most natural resource agencies. Management may include the use of quotas and length limits to ensure that populations are not over-exploited.

Casting or trolling with spinners or minnow-imitating plugs is a good bet. Special worm harness rigs of spinners and beads are often trolled. Jigs, either traditional bucktails, or tipped with any of the modern plastics, a piece of worm or minnow are walleye angling favorites.

Baits
Live baits are often still-fished, drifted or trolled on slip-sinker or "bottom-bouncing" rigs. Excellent live bait includes leeches, minnows, earthworms and crayfish.

When ice fishing walleye are caught jigging or on tip-ups. Tip-ups are generally set up with a dacron backing and a clear synthetic leader. For bait, the most common minnows are Fatheads and shiners. Size for bait is anywhere from 1 to 7 inches.

Walleye Seasons
In springtime walleye will take almost any bait or lure, but may be more challenging to catch through the summer months. Fall often brings another peak of walleye feeding activity. Walleye are readily caught through the ice in winter, usually on jigs, jigging spoons or minnows. Basically the Walleye is an all season fish.

A little Interesting Walleye Trivia
The walleye is the state fish of Minnesota. Its popularity with Minnesota residents means that the residents of that state consume more of the fish than in any other jurisdiction.

In 2004, it was revealed that some restaurants in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region had been substituting the less expensive, imported zander for the walleye indicated on the menu. Zander (pikeperch) is a closely-related species and is almost impossible to tell apart by taste, so the television station that did the exposé had to send samples of food for DNA testing. Though sold as "walleye", several samples were found to be zander, which is considered an illegal practice by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.