Other Common Names:

Walleyed Pike, Pickerel, Jackfish, Doré

State Record:

17 pounds 8 ounces

Identifying Features:

Walleye have a milky cast to their eyes. They have a long, round, olive body that has gold flecks on the sides with a white tip to the lower fork of the tail. There is a distinct black blotch on the rear end of the first dorsal fin.

Typical Adult:

Length: Up to 30 inches
Weight: Up to 10 pounds
Life span: Up to 26 years

Habitat:

Walleye are most numerous in large, cool, windswept lakes with low to moderate clarity. They also live in large rivers. The preferred water temperature is 65-75 °F.

Feeding Behavior:

Walleye most prefer other fish, but also eat aquatic insects, leeches, crayfish, snails, and larval salamanders. They normally feed in dim light.

Reproductive Behavior (Spawning):

When: Spring
Preferred Water Temperature: 45-50 ° F
How: No nests are built. The female scatters eggs randomly along a shallow, windswept shoreline with rubble bottom. Adults do not guard the eggs or fry (young).

Did You Know:

Blue walleye were once common in Lake Erie and Lake Ontario but are now thought to be extinct.

Walleye are named for their prominent, milky eyes.