Expensive Walleye (Sander vitreus): North America's Epic, Esteemed, Evasive Freshwater Fish

The word walleye most often calls up an image of an individual whose eyes do not work together in expected ways. The condition can be considered a photogenic scene-stealer among some actors and cinematographers. For example, the iris is located 2/3 to 3/4 of the way from the tear duct to the outer corner of the eye. The placement of the iris in the wall-eyed individual will look and photograph as though the person's attention is attracted to and focused upon what is happening peripherally, along the sides of a scene or the walls of a room, instead of ahead.

Medically, walleye can be called exotropia. The name is derived from the combination of two words from ancient Greek. The first part of the word, exo-, traces back to the ancient Greek preposition ἔξω, exo, which can be translated as “away.” The second part, -tropia, tracks back to the ancient Greek word τρέπω, trépò, which can be translated as “turn.” A literal translation of the two words will be “away turn” because of the turning of one eye away from the view ahead or towards the tear duct and out to the side.

Exotropia also is called divergent strabismus. The adjective divergent means the diverging movement of the eye away from the views ahead or towards the nose and toward the views towards the side of the face and the ears. The noun strabismus means “squint.” It traces its origins back to the Greek στραβισμός strabismos, from στραβός strabos, “squinting, squint-eyed.”

Exotropia can be considered the opposite ocular condition of esotropia. Esotropia derives from the combination of two ancient Greek words. The first part of the word, eso-, traces back to the ancient Greek word ἔσω, ésò, which means “to within, into.” The second part, -tropia, tracks back to the word τρέπω, trépò, which means “turn.”

Esotropia also can be known in English as convergent strabismus. In this case, one eye looks more inward, towards the nose. The condition perhaps is better known in English as “cross eyes” or “cross eyed.”

But the term walleye also can describe two other ocular conditions. Both conditions may be found in certain animals. One results in a blue, blue white or white iris. The other serves to produce the visible visual effect called eyeshine.

Eyeshine involves the presence in an animal of a layer of extra, special tissue behind or within the retina (Latin: rēte, “net” of light-sensitive tissue behind the cornea and on the inner surface of the eye). This tissue is called tapetum lucidum (Latin: “bright tapestry”). It permits its bearer to reflect back some of the visible light reaching the retina. It thereby results in the ability to process more light and to see better in low-light environments, such as at night and in darker or deeper waters.

It in fact is this last condition which is responsible for the name of the beloved walleye fish.

What the common name of the walleye is: Walleye is the common name by which people in their daily routines designate the walleye. But it may not be the only name which is heard used. Depending upon locales and situations, other names may replace or supplement the term walleye. Names such as the following number among those on the list of alternative common designations for the walleye:

• Colored pickerel;

• Colored pike;

• Colored pike-perch, colored pike perch;

• Dory;

• Glass eye;

• Gray pike;

• Green pike;

• Jack, jackfish;
• Jack salmon;

• Marble eye;

• Okow;

• Pike-perch, pike perch;

• Wall-eyed pickerel, walleye pickerel;

• Wall-eyed pike, walleye pike;

• Wall-eyed pike-perch, wall-eyed pike perch, walleye pike-perch, walleye pike perch;

• Yellow pickerel;

• Yellow pike;

• Yellow pike-perch, yellow pike perch;

• Yellow walleye.

What the scientific name of the walleye is: Samuel Latham Mitchill (August 20, 1764-September 7, 1831) is the gentleman who is credited with giving the walleye its scientific name. Samuel’s birth occurred in Hempstead, on New York’s Long Island. His death took place in New York City.

Samuel became a noted editor, educator, naturalist, physician and politician in his home state. He received top-notch training from Scotland’s historic University of Edinburgh. The world-renowned university from which Samuel graduated in 1786 was respected as a prestigious center of learning and research, particularly in medicine and the sciences.

The New York-born doctor and scientist began his teaching career in 1792. In that year, he received a teaching post in botany, chemistry and natural history from Columbia College, the oldest undergraduate college of New York’s esteemed Columbia University. In 1807, he was offered a teaching position at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York, which he held until 1826.

During his teaching years, Samuel found time to launch three parallel careers. In each case, he made favorite hobbies and longstanding interests work as professional sources of income and respect. He therefore managed to succeed in the following three concurrent careers:

• He organized the first medical journal in the United States of America. The journal was called The Medical Repository. Samuel was the founding editor.

• He pursued his lifelong interest in politics. He served in the New York State Assembly in 1791 and 1798. He then was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1801 and 1810 and to the U.S. Senate in 1804.

• He started up a collection of the animals and plants in his home state. He traveled throughout New York to research the specimens and their native habitats. He was a major contributor to the scientific classification of much of New York’s fauna and flora.

Samuel accessed specimens of the walleye in 1818. He based the first official description upon a walleye from one of New York State’s water bodies. He also was credited with the first scientific naming of the walleye in that same year.

The scientific name of the walleye is Sander vitreus. The first of the two names owes its selection to German-born naturalist Lorenz Oken (August 1, 1779-August 11, 1851). The second, vitreus (Latin: “glassy” in the masculine), pinpoints the hallmark glassiness of the walleye’s eyes, described by Samuel as “like semiglobes of glass.”

It is a replacement for the scientific designation of Stizostedion vitreum for the walleye. The first word in the two-part scientific name, Stizostedion (Greek: στίζω, stizo, "to prick, stick" + στῆθος, stethos, "breast", translated together as “pungent throat”), references the sharp canine teeth which grow on the roof of the mouth of the walleye. The second word, vitreum (Latin: “glassy” in the neuter), refers to the clearness of the walleye’s corneas.

What the walleye calls home: The walleye is native to the following areas of North America:

• Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River basin;

• Hudson Bay basin in its southern extension;

• Mackenzie River drainage in the north;

• Mississippi River basin.

The fish therefore may be found naturally occurring in many parts of Canada and the United States. It also may be present as a popular introduction throughout water bodies which drain into the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as well as the Gulf of Mexico.

In Virginia, the walleye is native to the Big Sandy and Tennessee drainages. It is suspected that it also may be naturally occurring in the New River drainage. It also may be considered an introduced fish through stocking of many of the Atlantic Ocean slope and New River drainages in the Commonwealth. But it no longer will be found in the North Fork Holston River because of its pollution intolerances.

Within its native and introduced ranges, the walleye appreciates the following, prevailing conditions within its watery habitats:

• Backwaters, deep runs and pools around river riffles;

• Clean gravelly or rocky bottoms to clear, deep lakes and larger rivers;

• Clear to somewhat rough, stained, turbid waters;

• Cooler zones within the backwaters, lakes, pools and runs of all but smaller rivers;

• Depths of around 7.87 to 20.01 feet (2.4 to 6.1 meters), up to 88.58 feet (27 meters);

• Higher altitudes;

• Large, shallow, turbid lakes;

• pH levels ranging from the moderately acidic up to the moderately alkaline;

• Rocky shoals;

• Tidal freshwater reaches;

• Water temperatures up to 73.4 °F (23 °C) in Texas and up to 84.2 °F (29 °C) elsewhere.

The walleye is intolerant of light other than at low levels of illumination. It prefers not to live in brackish or warmer waters even though it can express limited adaptation in both regards. It tolerates littered and sandy bottoms in water bodies even though it prefers the firm cover and structure of boulders, gravel or rubble.

What the walleye looks like: The walleye can be recognized through the following physical attributes:

Head:

• Cheeks with occasional scales;

• Eyes large, with clear, white light-reflective corneas;

• Gill covers scaly and spiny;

• Mouth large, with many sharp canine teeth on the roof of the mouth;

• Nape scaly;

• Underside white to yellow;

• Upper head olive to yellowish brown;

Body:

• Back olive to golden brown or yellow;

• Belly white, whitish or yellowish white;

• Lateral line running from the gill covers to the tail base and serving as a sensory organ for detecting movements, pressure changes, and vibrations;

• Mature body length of 12 to 31 inches (30 to 80 centimeters), with a known maximum of 42 inches (107 centimeters);

• Mature body weight of 3.3 to 20 pounds (1.5 to 9 kilograms), with a known maximum of 25 pounds (11.3 kilograms) in Tennessee;

• Scales;

• Shape elongated, reminiscent of a cylinder;

• Sides brassy and golden-hued, with brown, gray or olive brown blotching and mottling;

• Tail forked;

• Vertebrae, 44 to 48;

Fins, rays, spines:

• Anal fin clear and white-tipped, with 11 to 14 rays and 2 spines;

• Caudal (Latin: caudālis, “of or relating to the tail of an animal”) fin black-spotted, with white-tipped lower lobe;

• Dorsal (Latin: dorsālis, “of or relating to the back of an animal”) fins black-spotted, with 18 to 22 rays and 12 to 17 spines on the first fin and 1 to 2 on the second;

• Pectoral (Latin: pectorālis, “of or relating to the breast of an animal”) fin pale olive, with 13 to 16 rays;

• Pelvic fin clear, larger than pectoral, and with 5 rays and 1 spine.

What the walleye eats: The newly hatched walleye fry first absorbs its attached yolk sac once outside the egg. A week later, the young walleye adds as food sources the following:

• Crustaceans such as cladocerans and copepods;

• Fellow newly hatched walleye fry;

• Fly larvae;

• Zooplankton (Greek: ζῷον, zōon, “animal” + πλαγκτός, planktos, “errant” and therefore “drifter”).

One-and-half to two months later, the juvenile walleye then expands its diet to include fish, such as the following:

• Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus);

• Cisco (Coregonus spp);

• Crappie (Pomoxis spp);

• Freshwater drum (Aplodinotus grunniens);

• Gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum);

• Minnows, such as the bluntnose (Pimephales notatus) and the fathead (Pimephalus promelas);

• Rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax);

• Shiners (Notropis spp);

• Yellow perch (Perca flavescens).

The adult walleye can be considered a piscivore (Latin: piscis, “fish” + -vore, “eater”). The adult walleye diet indeed emphasizes fish. But it never gives up on such favorite snacks as the following:

• Crayfish;

• Frogs;

• Leeches;

• Mudpuppies;

• Small mammals such as voles;

• Snails.

Additionally, it seems incapable of resisting just about any aquatic or land insect which falls into or hovers over the surface waters.

What eats the walleye: Fish and people are the main predators of the walleye. Predatory fish include the following:

• Muskie (Esox masquinongy);

• Northern pike (Esox lucius);

• Sauger (Stizostedion canadense);

• Sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus);

• White perch (Morone americana).

Additionally, the walleye is known to prey on its own eggs, fry, young and juveniles.

Anglers, fishers and fish-eaters may be considered the human predators of the walleye.

When the walleye spawns: The walleye breeds in the evenings of late winter to early spring. It can spawn in cooler, shaded, shallower waters. For example, prime spawning locations may include any of the following micro-environments:

• Cooler, shallower waters of springs;

• Flooded vegetation and weed beds;

• Freshwater sections of brackish waters, such as those of the Chesapeake Bay;

• Inlet streams with gravel bottoms;

• River runs and reservoir tail waters;

• Rocky, wave-swept shallows in lakes;

• Shaded, shallow areas of tributaries.

The spawning season actually differs as much by locality as by the above-mentioned micro-environments. For example, in Virginia, spawning will occur in March and early April, at water temperatures of 35.96 to 60.08 °F (2.2 to 15.6 °C). In Texas, it will take place between February and April, at water temperatures of 48.02 to 55.04 °F (8.9 to 12.8 °C).

The female can produce as many as 500,000 to 600,000 eggs. The eggs fall and stick to gravel, rocks, sand, submerged objects, or vegetation. They hatch without any parental involvement since both the female and male immediately exit from the spawning grounds.

The fry hatches from its egg in response to water temperatures. It therefore may need as few as 12 days to break out from the egg. Or it may take as many as 30 days to emerge with its yolk sac as an attached lunch box.

The female walleye is sexually mature 1 year after hatching. The male matures at ages 2 to 4. The walleye may reach a known maximum age of 29 years. But because of its culinary and recreational popularity, its lifespan tends to hover around 5 to 6 or with luck 8 years.

What the walleye is used for: Culture, fishing and food are the most visible uses of the walleye.

In terms of culture, the walleye is the official provincial fish of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan (2008). It also is the official state fish of Minnesota (1965) and South Dakota (1982) as well as the unofficial state fish of Ohio. Additionally, as the official warm water fish, it shares official state fish status in Vermont with the brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), the official cold water fish.

In terms of fishing, the walleye is a sight feeder whose low light adapted eyes lead it into predictable patterns, places and times of feeding. The following guidelines therefore may help the frustrated or newbie angler and fisher to successful pursuit of the walleye:

Times:

• Dusk to dawn: year-round;

• Daylong: cloudy and overcast weather; spring;

Places:

• Bar and shoal feeding grounds: night-time;

• Choppy waters: whenever;

• Deeper, open waters: summer;

• Depths of 10+ feet (3.05 meters): calm spring weather;

• Shallow weed beds and shallower waters: spring, fall, rough windy weather;

• Stained, turbid waters of lowest visibility: whenever;

Methods:

• Artificial baits, such as those imitating crippled or injured minnows: night-time;

• Bottom fishing with jigs: calm weather;

• Live bait such as leeches, minnows, night crawlers: night-time;

• Lures such as crank baits, jigs, spinners, twisters in black, bright green, gold, purple, silver, yellow: spring days and summer nights.

In terms of food, the walleye can have a reputation throughout North America as a high-quality freshwater fish. Its flesh in fact cooperates heartily with fine dining settings. It therefore is nicknamed the “freshwater lobster” of North America. It likewise tends to be expensive in markets and stores.

Another disappointment in store-bought walleye centers around the marketing of the fish with its skin intact. The skin actually exudes a faintly, subtly unpleasant odor. The succulent flesh retains its usual high quality, but somewhat permeated with a subtly disagreeable smell.

But the above two reservations are resolved with the fresh catch and same-day preparation and service. The walleye preserves beautifully when kept cool in a handy ice chest carried from the capture through the transport and into the processing before consuming. It responds lusciously to any preparation which the fortunate chef may have in mind: from baking, boiling, broiling, and frying on to microwaving.

What the future holds for the walleye: Blessed indeed is the individual who sees or reels in the unabashedly eccentric and uncompromisingly elusive walleye. Even more blessed is the person who tastes the excellent, exquisite flesh of the evasive walleye. In both cases, considerable expense is involved. In the first instance, the hunt for the adaptable, astute walleye leads to euphoria after the expenditure of much patience and time. In the second, it makes for fine dining whether it is part of a fresh catch or an expensive purchase.

The chase and the consumption of the esteemed walleye -- whose epic flexibility and survivalist powers can be sustained in a range of watery habitats -- represent a worthy investment in sustainable natural resources. The excellent walleye always will be worth the wait and the price.

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the Internet; as well as to Stessily for original artwork included below.

My special thanks to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and U.S. Department of Agriculture for the professionalism which is evinced in the high-caliber data and images which they make available in print and on the internet.

My special thanks also to Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, University of Michigan, Texas State University-San Marcos, and Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission for the high caliber of their online resources.

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Gooch, Bob. Virginia Fishing Guide. Revised Edition. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1992.

Hart, David. Flyfisher’s Guide to Virginia Including West Virginia’s Best Fly Fishing Waters. Belgrade, MT: Wilderness Adventures Press, Inc., 2006.

Hassan-Williams, Carla, and Timothy H. Bonner “Sander vitreum walleye.” Texas State University-San Marcos Department of Biology: Texas Freshwater Fishes. http://www.bio.txstate.edu/~tbonner/txfishes/sander vitreus.htm (Last accessed December 5, 2011)

Jenkins, Robert E. and Noel M. Burkhead. Freshwater Fishes of Virginia. Bethesda, MD: American Fisheries Society, 1994.

Martens, Aaron, and Sherry Harrel. 2006. “Morone americana” (On-line), University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Animal Diversity Web. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Morone_americana.html (Last accessed December 5, 2011)

Rohde, Fred C., Rudolf G. Arndt, David G. Lindquist, and James F. Parnell. Freshwater Fishes of the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. Chapel Hill and London: The University of North Carolina Press, 1994.

“Walleye Fishing Tips.” Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission (PFBC) Gallery of Pennsylvania Fishes: The ‘EYES Have It: Walleye & Saugeye. http://fishandboat.com/pafish/walleye/popup_tips_walleye.htm (Last accessed December 5, 2011)

“Walleye, Stizostedion vitreum.” EFISH: The Virtual Aquarium of The Department of Fisheries & Wildlife Sciences of Virginia Tech. http://cnre.vt.edu/efish/families/walleye.html (Last accessed December 5, 2011)

“Walleye Stizostedion vitreum.” University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute: Fish of the Great Lakes. http://seagrant.wisc.edu/greatlakesfish/walleye.html (Last accessed December 5, 2011)

Copyright Monday, December 5, 2011 by Derdriu