FAMILY PERCIDAE 211 



abundant, particularly in lakes around the headwaters of the Mississippi. 

 It is one of the most abundant fishes in Red Lake, and with the possible 

 exception of tuUibee and sauger the walleye is still the most abundant 

 fish in Lake of the Woods. Some idea of its abundance in Rainy Lake 

 can be gained from the results of the egg-gathering operations in Rat 

 Root River carried on by the Minnesota Division of Game and Fish. 

 Rat Root River is only one of many tributaries of Rainy Lake up which 

 these fish migrate each spring to spawn. The catch in a single night with 

 a single pound net has been as high as 36,000 fully adult fishes, with 

 some of the females weighing as high as 12 to 14 pounds. Pollution of 

 the Lower Mississippi and almost all of the Minnesota River accounts 

 for a gradual decrease in the number of walleyes in those streams. 

 Thanks to remedial measures and the construction of dams raising the 

 water to a permanent low level we can shortly expect an increase in the 

 number of walleyes to something like the normal population of forty 

 years ago. 



Minnesota has been the leading state in the propagation of walleyes. 

 More than 825 lakes are stocked annually wnth fry of this species by the 

 Minnesota Department of Conservation. The annual output fluctuates, 

 but in favorable seasons the fry reaches the enormous number of ap- 

 proximately three quarters of a billion. Phenomenal success attended 

 the introduction of fry of this species into a number of Cook County 

 lakes that by reason of their comparative shallowness were unsuitable 

 for lake trout and contained no other game fishes except northern pike. 

 One of these, Brule Lake, has an area of over 4000 acres; yet three years 

 after the initial stocking with walleye fry it was possible to catch the 

 legal limit in any part of the lake. Although there are no tributary 

 streams entering the lake up which the walleyes may run to spawn, they 

 are reproducing in large numbers. The stocking of walleye fry at Brule 

 Lake is only one example of many similar successful introductions. It is 

 believed that at present more walleyes exist in Minnesota waters than 

 at any previous time; for though walleyes have become scarce in many 

 southern lakes because of adverse conditions prevailing over a period of 

 years, this deficiency has been compensated for by the extension of 

 their range into many lakes in w^hich they did not formerly exist. 



The walleye may reach a length of over 3 feet and a weight ranging 

 from 15 to 18 pounds. However, weights over 10 pounds are rare. The 

 average fish caught by the angler usually ranges from 1 to 4 pounds and 

 is from 3 to 5 years old (Eddy and Carlander. 1939) . The larger lakes, 

 such as Mille Lacs, Cass Lake, Leech Lake. Lake Vermilion, and Lake 

 Winnibigoshish, are ideal for this species. Some of these lakes have long 

 been somewhat overfished, with the result that there is now a scarcity 

 of large walleyes and an abundant supply of small ones weighing from 1 



