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General Description
The walleye is the largest member of the perch family of fishes and has
the following characteristics:
an elongate, slightly compressed body and a bluntly pointed head;
a long, blunt snout which does not extend beyond the upper jaw;
the back and top of the head are dark green; the sides are golden
yellow; and the underside is milk-white or yellow-white; and
the dorsal and caudal fins are speckled, the pelvic fins are yellow or
orange-yellow; and the pectoral fins are dark or pale olive.
Habitat and Life History
The walleye is a cool-water species that prefers turbid waters in
either large, shallow lakes or rivers, provided they are deep orturbid
enough to give shelter in daylight. As their eyes are very sensitive to
bright light, walleye often use sunken trees, boulders, weed beds, or
thick layers of ice and snow as a shield from the sun. In more turbid
water, walleye are more active during the day. Walleye spawn in the spring
or early summer, depending on latitude and water temperature. Adults
migrate to the rocky areas in white water below impassable falls and dams
in rivers, or boulder to coarse-gravel shoals of lakes. Spawning takes
place at night and the eggs fall into crevices in the rocky substrate. The
eggs hatch in 12 - 18 days and by 10 - 15 days after hatching, the young
disperse into the upper levels of open water.
Food Habits
As the walleye increases in size, its diet shifts from invertebrates to
fishes. It is an active feeder during the whole year and can be angled
summer and winter. |
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