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Walleye

Introduction

The walleye (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum) is the largest member of the perch family. The walleye is also (incorrectly) known as walleyed pike, doré, pike, jackfish, jack, and pickerel. Originally a Canadian and northern U.S. fish, stocking has extended the fish's range throughout most of the southern U.S. Walleyes average between one and three pounds, but walleyes in flourishing areas may weigh over ten pounds.

Walleyes average between one and three pounds, but walleyes in flourishing areas may weigh over ten pounds.

Behaviour

The walleye is known for its savory taste rather than for its fighting ability. With oversized eyes adapted for low-light and night conditions, the fish is hard to find but moderately easy to catch when found. They prefer clear, moving rivers and some well-circulated lakes. The fish are most active when the water temperature is between 56ºF and 60ºF, although they continue to feed when the water temperature is between 32ºF and 84ºF.

Walleyes spawn at night in the spring when the water temperature is between 45-50ºF. In lakes, spawning grounds are in areas two to six feet deep with sand or gravel bottoms. In rivers, walleyes spawn in shallow areas with a light current passing over a gravel bottom.

Young fry are not protected by their parent walleyes. The fry feed on zooplankton until reaching about eight inches in length (by the end of summer), and then they feed primarily on small fish. The following year, young walleyes reach their mature length of sixteen to eighteen inches. In southern waters with a longer summer season, walleyes grow much faster but have a shorter life span of about ten years, compared to walleyes in northern waters that live past twenty years of age.

Spring Fishing Techniques

In the spring spawning season, look for walleyes during the day in deep holes directly above or below the shallow gravel spawning grounds. Walleyes are gentle biters, and this kind of fishing requires sensitive light spinning equipment and six-pound test line for casting small lures.

Hook a live three-inch minnow through both lips with a No. 4 or 6 hook and add enough slip shot weight to pull the bait to the bottom. Cast the minnow above a clear hole near a gravel bar where a feeder stream enters the river. Let the rig settle into the hole, and then slowly crawl the minnow along the bottom. Also try slow-moving bottom lures such as a small yellow plastic split-tail grub, a small jig with a hooked minnow, or a spinner placed a few inches above a baited hook. For any combination, remember to retrieve the rig slowly and sometimes let the hook rest still on the bottom.

For about two weeks following the spawning run, river walleyes congregate together in inactive schools. The fish move to their summer and fall feeding grounds, which are usually along a man-made rocky shoreline (rip rap) where the rocks enter in at least six feet of water and where another shelf drops into deeper, faster moving water. Cast or slowly troll small deep-diving crank baits parallel to the shoreline. Wing dams that trail into rivers should be fished the same way. Cast a jig right against a dam abutment, or fish eddies and clear areas where the current changes direction or speed.

Walleyes are difficult to find in lakes because the fish move into shallow feeding grounds at night, and then move into deeper water during daylight. To find walleyes, look for small schools of forage fish. Usually small yellow perch are the main dietary component, but walleyes also feed on available sucker fry, leeches, bloodworms, and insect larvae.

In early spring, lake walleyes are in water over gravel bars three to six feet deep. After spawning, the fish are inactive; the males remain in the shallows while the females move to deep water. In about two weeks time, the fish move to shallow waters and actively feed around submerged logs, rocks, weed beds, and anything else offering cover. In these covered areas, slowly fish live minnows (three to six inches in length) or a jig-and-minnow combination.

Summer Fishing Techniques

In the summer, the shallows are an active feeding ground at dawn and at night between eight and midnight. Quietly and slowly troll or cast a floater-diver (Rebel or Bang-O-Lure) over shallow bars near underwater drop-offs. Cast along the shore, but be careful not to spook the wary fish with a flashlight or excessive noise.

To find summer walleyes in large lakes, fish the bottom oxygenated thermocline layer at about twenty feet deep. Use a live minnow to determine at which depth the thermocline layer lies; if the minnow surfaces dead with its gills flared, the angler is fishing either too deep or too shallow. If the minnow is active along the rocky piles and bottom drop offs at twenty feet deep, continue to slowly fish the area.

On windy or cloudy days, wade in the shallows and cast a jig-and-minnow parallel to the shore in three or four feet of water. Let the waves move the jig as it is slowly reeled through the moving weeds. Other lures for the shallows are small, long thin crank baits crawled along the bottom weed beds, or slow-moving Flatfish and Rapalas lures.

In the summer, the best times to catch weed walleyes are at dawn, dusk, and at night. During these low-light conditions, use shallow-running crank baits cast into the weeds or trolled along the weed edges.

A coon tail and cabbage weed forest in water from six to twelve feet deep is prime walleye territory. Look for areas with a clear sandy bottom that taper to deeper water; the absence of algae growth signals an underwater current attractive to forage fish. Look for depressions in the middle of deep weed beds Any small openings in the weed growth could indicate a dip in the lake bottom and the best walleye fishing in the lake. When fishing the middle of dense weed beds, use medium-weight spinning tackle and ten-pound test line. Use small plastic worms or split tail grubs or a 1/8 to ¼- ounce jig with yellow plastic. Cast the lure into the middle of the weed bed, and wait until it sinks to the bottom. Let the lure lie motionless and tug the line the second the rod twitches or there is any notice of a strike.

If the jig does not produce a strike within a few moments of resting on the bottom, slowly move it through the weeds and let it sink again. If the hook gets caught up in the weeds, a quick pull on the rod generally frees the lure.

After conducting extensive studies, some biologists have suggested that there is a subspecies of weed-oriented walleye that spends the summer and fall months in shallow weed beds The other distinctive group is the deep-water walleyes. These walleyes move around underwater structures in water ten to twenty feet deep, and are drawn to light lake currents (caused by the wind) where forage fish feed. In the winter the deep-water walleyes may be in water from twenty to forty feet deep or greater.

Deep Water Fishing Techniques

To catch deep-water walleyes, slowly back troll a weighted jig-and-minnow combination or in warmer water also try a jig with a night crawler or leech, a plastic grub, empty jigs, minnows, night crawlers, crawfish tails, leeches, or a V-shaped cut of yellow perch belly (where it is legal). First let the rig sink to the bottom behind the boat, and then retrieve the line and lower the rod tip several inches from the water surface. Next, lift the rig a few inches off the bottom and move the boat back three feet, letting the bait swing slowly beneath and under the boat. Hold the rod still while the rig returns to its original position below the rod tip, and lower the rig to verify the correct bottom depth. Then lift the jig, move the boat another three feet, and repeat the process. Back trolling covers a lot of water and catches a lot of walleyes.

Walleyes move into deep water in the winter. Try fishing the rocky points or sunken islands in at least twenty feet of water, or try steep drop offs near deep water and nearby shallow gravel bars. Hook a six-inch minnow through both lips and slowly drop the bait to the bottom, letting the minnow adjust to the change in pressure. If a walleye strikes the minnow at thirty feet, try fishing the same depth to catch other fish in the school. If no more fish take the bait, try a different depth in the same area around any bottom structure or weed beds If the school isn't spooked by the initial hooked walleye, then others can be caught from the same school before moving on.

The best walleye anglers study the lakes and rivers they plan to fish, noting the locations of underwater drop offs, sloping weed beds, sunken islands, shallow gravel bars, depressions, etc. Record the weather conditions and water conditions for each walleye catch to learn the habits of local walleye populations. Walleyes are easy fish to catch when found, and an appetizing reward for the time spent finding them.

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