Those Wily Walleye Fish

The mysterious almost elusive nature of the famous walleye fish has intrigued generations and generations of the most avid anglers. Anyone who has spent much or even a weekend fishing walleye “up there” in the northern US states or Canada knows that walleye can bite like crazy or maybe “crazy fish” one day, and then disappear almost invisibly over the next fortnight, all for no apparent reason. And it seems that once these elusive trophy fish, these wonderful walleye fish are gone, nothing but nothing can bring them back or change their determined and cunning brains.

But despite, or perhaps for these very reasons, their unpredictable or even elusive behaviors, walleye are among the most popular game fish, especially in the northern US states and Canada. In fact, it can be said that some anglers chase walleye just for the challenge, while others will tell you that’s it because walleye fillets and especially “walleye cheeks” are a premium meal.

Walleyes were originally only found in a triangular area that stretched across Canada and south to Alabama. But these years, as a result of widespread restocking programs, they are now found in almost every state and province. Some attempts have even been made to introduce walleyes outside of North America.

Two subspecies of walleye have been identified in North America: the yellow walleye and the blue walleye or blue pike. The yellow walleye, commonly known simply as walleye, is the only remaining subspecies of walleye.

In terms of coloring and coloration, yellow walleye typically have an olive green back, golden sides, and a white belly. Distinctive markings include a milky-white tip on the lower tail lobe and a black spot at the rear base of the spiny dorsal fin.

In many waters, anglers confuse the walleye with its close relative – the Sauger fish. To tell them apart, it is wise to know that Saugers have a distinctly different coloration and do not grow anywhere near the size of walleye fish. To further complicate matters, walleyes and saugeres sometimes mix and hybridize, producing offspring, which have been called or nicknamed “saugeye”. These saugeye fish can be said to appear with intermediate features, colorations, and markings between each of the two parent fish: walleye and sauger fish. Fortunately, walleye and their close relatives, dachshunds, have no other North American relatives. However, walleyes are closely related to the European walleye, or pike perch. It can be said that the two look remarkably similar in comparison, but walleye distribute their eggs randomly while their close relatives, while walleye fish are nest builders.

Common names for walleye create a lot of confusion among anglers, even experienced avid anglers. In much of Canada, walleye are called pike, horse mackerel, or Dore, the French name for the species. In the United States they are often called “Walleyed Pike”. But again, that name is a misnomer because walleye do not belong to the pike family, but to the perch fish family.

However, no matter what walleye a walleye is and no matter what a bad day you had trying to catch those elusive walleye, it’s always better than the best day spent at the office in town.