Scientific Name
Sander vitreus
Walleye
Image Credit
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Length
35.5–58.4 centimetres (14-23 inches)
Weight
0.68–1.36 kilograms (1.5-3 pounds)
Similar Species
Sauger
Location
  • throughout Ontario
  • especially common in the Great Lakes basin and Northern Ontario
Description
  • Large, elongated fish
  • Back is olive-green to brown; sides paler with yellow flecks
  • No distinct blotches or bands on adults
  • White tip on lower tail fin
  • Spiny and soft dorsal fins separated
  • Large mouth extends below back edge of eye
  • Large teeth
Habitat
  • a range of river and lake conditions
  • from cold, clear water to warm, weedy and stained water
  • soft mud bottoms to flooded timber, rubble or bedrock
  • preferred cover – weed, wood, rock
Angling Tips
  • walleye avoid light—best times to fish are morning and evening, and cloudy or overcast days
  • take almost any bait or lure in spring, and feed well in fall
  • more challenging to catch in summer
  • cast or troll with spinners or minnow-imitating plugs
  • troll with worm harness rigs of spinners and beads
  • still-fish, drift or troll live baits on slip-sinker or "bottom-bouncing" rigs
  • ice fish with jigs, jigging spoons or minnows
Common Bait
  • jigs tipped with soft plastics, live bait or bucktail
  • minnow-imitating plugs
  • minnows, earthworms, crayfish