walleye spawn

[Vexipro]

So ive noticed in the past and havent really gotten a straight answer on this, but when you catch a walleye in the late winter to early spring that has nothing in it- no eggs, no sperm- whats goin on there? ive though maybe they werent mature enough to spawn, but ive seen people keep some pretty decent fish that were void of anything...

[tigerbalm2424]

Menopause.......... Sorry, I had to.

[Farley]

You notice that on Calhoun (uptown) and sometimes Minnetonka.

Seriously, I have no idea.

[Vexipro]

lol those are the only answers ive gotten so far too!

LOL

[fishnhuntnboy]

the only thing i could think of is that they are walleye that cannot self reproduce. kinda like trout lakes that have to be stocked every year because there is no natural reproduction. id say that may be why but otherwise i have no idea.

[Vexipro]

ive seen it in alot of lakes. one is full of sperm, and the next one (identical to the first) will have nothing....

[Iambjm]

Maybe it is a male walleye that is past his prime.

Didn't get to finish this this morning, got booted off the net by da rain.

[tacklejunkie]

 Originally Posted By: Vexipro

ive seen it in alot of lakes. one is full of sperm, and the next one (identical to the first) will have nothing....

not all walleyes in a lake spawn at the same time. so maybe one you catch is spawning while the other one has spawned or will spawn

[andrew chadwick]

anyone ever wonder what happens to all those medicines that get flushed down the toilet?

maybe this is a side affect?

[Nick Kuhn]

On some smaller lakes spawning doesn't always occur.

[Vexipro]

All these reasons have been thought of before, but i dont think Walleyes spawn in jan and feb when theres 3 feet of ice on the lake anywhere....

[riverrat56]

I have seen the same thing, never really thought of it but, maybe it has something to do with if the fish was stocked or not, maybe if the lake lacks and spawning habitat, shallow gravel or rock, then they walleyes do not try to spawn? This doesn't add up though when some have eggs/sperm, and some don't. Another though I had was that maybe some fish are undernurished and do not try to spawn because of this.

[Nick Kuhn]

 Originally Posted By: riverrat56

I have seen the same thing, never really thought of it but, maybe it has something to do with if the fish was stocked or not, maybe if the lake lacks and spawning habitat, shallow gravel or rock, then they walleyes do not try to spawn? This doesn't add up though when some have eggs/sperm, and some don't. Another though I had was that maybe some fish are undernourished and do not try to spawn because of this.

If fish are undernourished then they won't waste resources spawning. And stocked fish is a great point. My lake is stocked, and they did spring netting last year when walleye were supposed to be spawning. None had anything in them. Perhaps it has to do with instincts? They look to spawn where they were born, and if it's a tank they have no idea what to do?

[Vexipro]

Hmm i dont really think undernourishment is a possibility either.. the lake im thinking of in particular does pretty well, tons of baby sunnies and stuff to eat. maybe that whole stocking program thought is on to something though... do they stock LOTW? ive seen this up there as well....

[slipperybob]

 Originally Posted By: VahnTitrio

If fish are undernourished then they won't waste resources spawning. And stocked fish is a great point. My lake is stocked, and they did spring netting last year when walleye were supposed to be spawning. None had anything in them. Perhaps it has to do with instincts? They look to spawn where they were born, and if it's a tank they have no idea what to do?

That's along the lines of what some other recent fish research were saying. Part of it is also that these fishes looking for suitable spawning habitat. If they don't find it, then they have no reason to spawn.

[Vexipro]

So how about LOTW that has ample spawning opportunites?

[slipperybob]

LOTW...maybe it's like panfish and they look for the most suitable mates as well as habitat

They don't find them, then it's better if they reserve their energy for growing, forage, or survival.

[TroyMcClure]

Walleye don't necessarily spawn every year. They have adapted to be able to hold out if all of the variables don't add up.

[Vexipro]

hmmm.. it still doesnt fully add up to me. these are all good explantations, but to me, doesnt really explain why one would be gearing up with eggs or sperm or whatever to spawn and the next one isnt. Same environment, same food, same everything. Doesnt make sense....

[Vexipro]

is there nobody that knows anything for sure on this?

[Kyle Sandberg]

 Originally Posted By: chadwick

anyone ever wonder what happens to all those medicines that get flushed down the toilet?

maybe this is a side affect?

You would think all the little blue pills floating around out there would help the problem... J/K

I have no idea on the orginal ?

[tacklejunkie]

 Originally Posted By: Vexipro

is there nobody that knows anything for sure on this?

not all walleyes spawn. not all walleyes spawn at the same time. different sexual maturity levels. the fish spawning at different times is natures way of ensuring that some hatch happens that year. if all the walleyes spawned at the same time, and some egg killing condition popped up, that would wipe out that whole year. No walleye stocking on LOTW. thwere is plenty of spawning habitat for the walleyes to spawn. i have caught walleyes that you would get a few males and one or two would be milting all over your hand while you hold them up. this is more likely if it is a late spring

[RiverBassGuy]

 Originally Posted By: chadwick

anyone ever wonder what happens to all those medicines that get flushed down the toilet?

maybe this is a side affect?

It's those dang pharmacists!! They are out to kill all the fish!! Maybe if they start releasing viagra into the water our fish will spawn twice as often and we'll have twice as many walleyes!! One can only hope.....

[slipperybob]

 Originally Posted By: Vexipro

is there nobody that knows anything for sure on this?

that's up to the individual fish...kind of like, did it choose to eat a leech or a shiner or a minnow or a sucker?