Once in a lifetime morning (Huge Indiana Walleye)

[IceJunkie0602]

Awesome fish! Great job landing it on that rod

Wax worm, if that walleye is full of roe then there must be other eyes in the lake right? Maybe they are reproducing

Fish just like humans go through an egg cycle weather they are breeding with males or not.

[wax_worm]

Wax worm, if that walleye is full of roe then there must be other eyes in the lake right? Maybe they are reproducing

Fish just like humans go through an egg cycle weather they are breeding with males or not.

Yep...and even if there were males in there, without the right spawning habitat, the spawn will not be successful.  Like I have said before, I have fished this lake for 30 years and never seen, caught or heard of a walleye caught there.  So if they are spawning, they are doing it somewhere secret, because you can see down 12-14 ft in this lake and there is no flowing water. 

However, I have heard there are 2 strains of walleye...lake walleye and river walleye.  'River' walleye need flowing water or current to effectively spawn while lake walleye don't need moving water or current.  Can anyone verify this, or is there only one kind of walleye and they all need some sort of current to spawn effectively?   They must spawn in Maxi and Bass as there seem to be decent population of 2-4lb fish there and I have caught some jacks of the rocks in Maxi bass fishing in the spring that were spraying milt everywhere.  I don't think either of those bodies of water have current or flowing water do they?

[h2.0shaver]

Rarely will walleye spawn in a back bay or sheltered water. Their eggs do require constant aeration, so they would typically spawn in a rocky area that is exposed to wind(shallow). This seems that a river would have a huge advantage over a lake for spawning, but not necessarily the size of the fish.
As far as growth rates= Lattitude seems to play the major role as with other species . EX= A walleye out of North Caribou Lake in Ontario (53N) at age 5 years would average 12" in lenght. The same age fish out of Claytor Reservior, VA (37N) would average 24-26".  Its believed though that northern eyes are more plentiful and have a longer life span.

[2Bonthewater]

hoss of a walleye........most lake walleyes swim up some sort of creek or river to spawn........

I'd love to see the walleye shuffle...........it could be the next youtube sensation

[wax_worm]

Rarely will walleye spawn in a back bay or sheltered water. Their eggs do require constant aeration, so they would typically spawn in a rocky area that is exposed to wind(shallow). This seems that a river would have a huge advantage over a lake for spawning, but not necessarily the size of the fish.
As far as growth rates= Lattitude seems to play the major role as with other species . EX= A walleye out of North Caribou Lake in Ontario (53N) at age 5 years would average 12" in lenght. The same age fish out of Claytor Reservior, VA (37N) would average 24-26".  Its believed though that northern eyes are more plentiful and have a longer life span.

Hmmmm....no moving water coming into this lake other than it is spring fed.  Really no rocky areas either.  Threre are a couple gravel areas in about 4ft of water but they are about the size of a pickup truck.  Doesn't sound real good for spawning walleye there.  Where do they spawn in bass and maxi and other inland lakes?  On the rocks or do those lakes have a creek or river coming in that they spawn on?  The few walleye I have caught in maxi were in the rocks and right on the bank on the wind blown side of the lake.

[slabgill]

Big marble eyes...Still like the tone of that....LOL....We are going to have trouble next weekend living up to that one....Probably for a few more years anyway....

[spring bobber]

Big marble eyes...Still like the tone of that....LOL....We are going to have trouble next weekend living up to that one....Probably for a few more years anyway....

Until May/June when we go Bronzeback huntin'   

[FelixD]

WOW what a monster!!!!!! Congrsts!

[h2.0shaver]

They can spawn anywhere but I guess the succession rate goes up with all the variables. Alot of lakes are stocked with walleye and I doubt that they will ever have a successful spawn. I would guess that where it was caught was a non spawning eye lake based on your personal knowledge of the lake. I know my uncle caught a 6lb+ walleye out of a small lake/pond in Hobart, Robinson Lake. Most people wouldn't believe it but I seen it myself so they may have been either stocked at one time or illegally (hillbilly stocked.) Another bizzar story is that a Pirahna was caught out of Flint Lake in Valpo years ago. Obviously released by a pet owner tired of feeding or caring for it.