Walleye weight questions?

[jparrucci]

I've always wondered if others out there have noticed large differences between walleye weights by body of water, or differences in the thickness of fish on the same body of water. On Lake Vermilion, we seem to catch all healthy walleye, who look skinny until they hit about 13.5 inches, then the seem to put on a ton of weight between 13.5 and 14. The difference between the 13 and 14 inch walleyes seems very very substancial. Then, fishing the Minnesota River in Mankato, I would frequently catch walleyes and especially saugers or saugeyes that we much thinner than anything on Vermilion. In one case in particular, I remember measuring out a 24 inch sauger that couldn't have even made 2 1/2 lbs. Has anyone else ever noticed a body of water that consistantly produces fatter or skinnier fish?

[tunrevir]

Do I know you? I know of a Parucci that fishes the Vermillion area alot but he is from Forest lake, married a gal from the fridley area from a restraunt that he worked at? Curious? Had a friend that caught a 28" 18" girth out of a north metro lake this year and the fish tipped the scales at just over 8lbs. I have caught fish over 30" that have just put the scales at 8.5 early in the year and have caught others that have a Tullibee sticking out of them and a big fat gut that have pushed 11 lbs in the fall. To me it really depends on the lake you are fishing. Some fish are fatter then footballs and defy the legth to girth weights we are given for CPR and others are just long and skinny and you'd swear they would be a bonafide 9 pound fish untill the scale tells you different.

Tunrevir~

[Bohunk]

LOW is known for producing larger girth fish vs. length. I have noticed a smaller head on them as well, meaning they're growing weightwise faster than lengthwise. I believe it is directly related to genetics and a higher protein forage base, much like fish out of Lake Erie, younger fish, but more weight. Compare this to Winnie in the summer where a 26" fish may only weigh 4.5 to 5 lbs. and are noticably thinner. In the fall, you will still get some trophies, but they look completely different than a comparable LOW fish, both in length vs. weight, along with larger heads. Just my observations, I'm sure other fisheries/lakes vary as well.

[WalleyesWest]

Yep length and weight very alot depending on the lake and time of year. I have seen 27inch eyes that weigh 5lb to 8lbs and so on. On LOW size sometimes matters where you are fishing also. I think that fish on the reefs tend to be a little more chubby then sand and mud fish. Like mentioned above the heads seem way to small for their bodies. Gender also affects how a fish looks to. With the females being large during and before the spawn.

[jparrucci]

That Parrucci you are refering to would be my older cousin. Small world, few Parrucci's!

[slab seeker]

Caught a 26 1/2 inch walleye up north should have been around 6 pounds and it only weighed to about 4.5. It all depends on what it eats and the lake it lives in.

[Drewski]

I've caught a 26" eye that went 8.2 lbs. It was a pig!

[Scott M]

Depends on the season and condition of the fish. That's why a formula that factors girth is generally more accurate than just a length-weight scale.

During the forage shortages on Mille Lacs, people were catching 20-28" walleyes that were 1-4 pounds underweight. Then you see some of the fish coming out of the Columbia River in Washington that are gorging themselves on salmon smolts...medically obese walleyes!