Wiley Walleyes
The Great Outdoors | May 1, 2023
By Jackie Scharfenberg, Forest Naturalist, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
I heard you came for some night fishing with us walleyes (Sander vitreus), the largest member of the perch family.
Let’s see if you brought the correct gear. Also, there few things you should know…
FIRST
We have camouflage consisting of an olive green back with at least five black saddles that fade to gold along the sides to a white belly. Predators looking into the water can’t see us because of our dark top colors, and our white bellies blend in with the sky if a predator approaches from below. Not to confuse us with our close cousins, the saugers, look for a lack of spots on our top dorsal fins with the back dorsal fin sporting a prominent blotch. Also note the white tip on the lower lobe of our tail fin.
SECOND
We have a sleek torpedo-shaped body. This long, thin body allows for quick ambush attacks to capture prey. An average adult grows two-three feet long and weighs between 10 and 20 pounds. The record walleye measured 42 inches long and weighed 29 pounds.
THIRD
We have a large mouth with lots of sharp teeth. This setup works great for capturing all kinds of fish from minnows to small perch as well as leeches, aquatic insects, and frogs.
FOURTH
Our large photosensitive eyes often appear opaque or pearlescent because of the tapetum lucidum, a reflective membrane located within our eyes. Because of our sensitive eyes, we shy away from bright lights and prefer to hunt at dawn, dusk and night. If the water is turbid (cloudy) or the sky overcast, we will hunt during the day. In clear water, we stay deep during the day and move to the shallows at night to feed. We got our name, walleye, from our unique eyes.
Habitat
Our favorite habitat includes cold or cool waters of rivers, lakes and reservoirs that contain a lot of structure such as rock piles, weed beds, humps, points, ledges, and fallen trees. As the summer water temperatures increase, we move to deeper cool areas. Traditionally, we lived only in the Great Lakes and Mississippi River drainage basins. Over the years humans have stocked us in many other parts of the United States for sport fishing.
Spawning
The spawning migration begins soon after the winter ice melts and water temperatures reach 38o-44oF, peaking at temperatures of 42o-50oF. In Wisconsin that period generally runs from early April to mid-May. Three- to four-year old males and year older females head to rivers or shallows with rocky bottoms and some current that clears away sediment from the eggs and aerates them. A female can broadcast deposit more than 100,000 eggs which the males fertilize. Depending on water temperature, the eggs hatch in 12-30 days. After absorbing their egg sacs in about a week, the young fry feed on all kinds of invertebrates. After 40-60 days, they become primarily fish eaters.
WHAT!?! You came NOT to fish with us, but to catch a walleye for a tasty meal! Oh no! Now you know our secrets. I need to warn the other walleyes before you drop a line!
