Thus, walleye anglers commonly look for locations where a good 'walleye chop' (i.e., rough water) occurs. The fish's eyes also allow them to see well in turbid waters (stained or rough, breaking waters), which gives them an advantage over their prey. Many anglers look for walleyes at night since this is when major feeding efforts occur. They avoid bright light and feed in low light on fish that cannot see as well as they do. The name 'walleye' comes from its pearlescent eyes caused by the reflective tapetum lucidum which, in addition to allowing the fish to see well in low-light conditions, gives its eyes an opaque appearance.

The species has been artificially propagated for over a century and has been planted on top of existing populations or introduced into waters naturally devoid of the species, sometimes reducing the overall genetic distinctiveness of populations.Įtymology Walleye, Sander vitreus In general, fish within a watershed are quite similar and are genetically distinct from those of nearby watersheds. Walleyes show a fair amount of variation across watersheds. In parts of its range in English-speaking Canada, the walleye is known as a pickerel, though the fish is not related to the true pickerels, which are members of the family Esocidae. However, recent genetic analysis of a preserved (frozen) 'blue walleye' sample suggests that the blue and yellow walleye were simply phenotypes within the same species and do not merit separate taxonomic classification. The walleye is sometimes called the yellow walleye to distinguish it from the blue walleye, which is a color morph that was once found in the southern Ontario and Quebec regions, but is now presumed extinct. It is a North American close relative of the European zander, also known as the pikeperch.

The walleye ( Sander vitreus, synonym Stizostedion vitreum), also called the yellow pike or yellow pikeperch or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States.

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