Walleye

Note the reflectiveness of the eye, great night fishing

A lot of angler’s search for walleye’s during the night as this is the time wherein the most important feeding pattern takes place. This species can still use their eyes to see well in turbid or muddy waters (stained or rough, breaking waters) and this gives them the advantage over their prey.

The perch family is a large group of fish that consisting of 140 species in North America alone. This fish is presumably one of the most profitable and valuable species in Canada’s inland waters. The walleye is also one of the most important commercial and sport fish in Canada, North America and Europe as well. According to a survey, in Canada the walleye is the game species most often fished for and considered as the second abundant catches of anglers.

The walleye (Stizostedion vitreum) is reasonably close to yellow perch and darters. It is also known to have a lot of common names such as pickerel, yellow pickerel, yellow walleye, pike perch, wall-eyed pike, walleye pike and core. The color of their backs are normally dark-green, the sides are golden yellow and the belly is white which makes them attractive not just to anglers but to most people who are fond of fish.

The lower tip of the caudal fin is white and it has a large black splotch at the rear base of the first dorsal fin. Immature walleye frequently have dark blotches across their backs and behind their sides, an appearance that is very uncommon in a fully developed walleye. The color of this species is extremely variable, depending on their environment but most of their populations consist of golden color characteristics.

Generally, they have fair appearance with less noticeable black blemishes in turbid waters and more conspicuously spotted in clear waters. Adult walleye have a calculated average weight of l kg but the record is in the vicinity of 11 kg. This species can get bigger and may reach the length of 75 cm (30 in) and weigh up to about 7 kg (15 lb). The greatest recorded size for this kind of fish is 107 cm (42 in) in length and 11.3 kg (25 lb) in weight. In most cases, female walleye grow larger than males. They may live for many years and the oldest noted age is 29 years.

An illustration of the Walleye

This interesting and well known species is commonly found in fresh or clean water, not often in salty waters. Since this kind of fish is known for having excellent visual perspicacity under low illumination points, they have a tendency to feed more comprehensively during the dawn and dusk, on gloomy or dreary days and under irregular conditions when the penetration of the light into the water column is interrupted.

Anglers may understand this as a light evasion but it is simply an expression of the walleye’s competitive advantage over its prey under those circumstances. Correspondingly, in darkly stained or turbid waters this species will tend to feed all throughout the day. They primarily feed on smaller fish (including smaller walleye), but would eat whatever the lake or river have to offer including insects, leeches, frogs and small mammals.

A term commonly used by walleye anglers for coarse water normally with winds of 5 to 15 mph (7 to 24 km/h) is “Walleye chop”. It indicates a good timing for walleye fishing as the species increase their feeding activity during this condition. Because Walleyes are popular with anglers, fishing for this species is strictly regulated by most natural resource agencies. Management includes the use of quotas and length limits to make sure that populations are not over-exploited.

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With persistence and better understanding of the lake’s atmosphere, anyone can be a successful walleye fisher. Jigging for walleye is still the most popular technique of catching this game fish. Lure or bait, colors and setting are all variables it requires to manage the fish. An additional method when catching the walleye is drifting the lure down the fresh water. If you go for walleye fishing, make sure that you are aware of the technique of successfully drifting the lure so you can increase your chances of a catch.

Keep in mind that if you are striking the water without any guidelines just use the oldest strategy well known to mankind in finding fish. It is to ask another angler where the best location is, if you’re in the wrong place or there at the wrong time, you haven’t got a chance. The pleasure of walleye’s striking really gets the adrenaline pumping, but the genuine trophy comes after you settle down with a platter of recently and freshly cooked Walleye.