Spawning Walleyes — Up Close and Personal
Spawning walleyes in the spring is a fantastic sight to behold. Every year mature walleyes gather in the shallow hard, sandy bottoms to create the next generation of fish.
The brilliant, spring sunlight warming the rushing spawning rivers attracts the amorous walleyes upstream in groups.
When the rivers start running through the warming low lands, the water quickly approaches 40-degree temperatures. You’ll also notice —penologically speaking—when the peeper frogs start their swamp melody, it closely coincides with walleye run. The calendar dates vary every year, but it is generally in Northern Minnesota it is during the middle of April.
Then, when the swiftly flowing waters reach around 43-degrees, the frisky walleyes are ready to get their game on!
The rotund females accompany the sleek frenzied males as they push upstream. The males herd the females — cajole, twist, push, and prod the ripe ladies into submission.
When she is finally ready, both male and female magically “boot it” out simultaneously in a beautiful flowing ballet. Males often force females to the surface in splashing sexual frenzy.
The tiny fertilized eggs rush downstream and adhere to the hard gravelly substrate.
And so begins the majestic treasure of our renewed future walleye stock.
