Walleye
Walleye (Sander vitreus) is a freshwater species. The first thing to check: a large, glassy, reflective eye that shines white in a photograph flash — the reflective layer that gives the fish its name and its low-light advantage. The look-alike to rule out is Sauger: sauger have distinct rows of black spots on the spiny dorsal fin, dark saddle blotches on the flank, and no white tail tip.
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| Scientific name | Sander vitreus |
|---|---|
| Also called | yellow pickerel, walleyed pike |
| Water | Freshwater |
| Group | Perch |
| Temperature | Spawns at 42 to 50 °F; feeds best between 60 and 70 °F. |
How to identify a Walleye
- A large, glassy, reflective eye that shines white in a photograph flash — the reflective layer that gives the fish its name and its low-light advantage.
- A white tip on the lower lobe of the tail fin.
- Olive-gold flanks with dark mottling, prominent canine teeth, and two separate dorsal fins.
If you would rather not work through a key on a wet deck, photograph the fish and let the app name it — you get the common and the scientific name back, and the record is filed before you release.
Fish it is mistaken for
| Species | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|
| Sauger | Sauger have distinct rows of black spots on the spiny dorsal fin, dark saddle blotches on the flank, and no white tail tip. |
| Saugeye | The hybrid shows both traits at once — faint dorsal spotting with a partial white tail tip. If you see both, it is a saugeye. |
Side-by-side comparisons
Read the full entry for Sauger.
Where it lives
Large lakes, reservoirs and rivers across the northern and central United States and Canada. Sits on hard bottom, points, reefs and current breaks, deeper by day and shallower at night.
Temperature
Spawns at 42 to 50 °F; feeds best between 60 and 70 °F.
The conditions that matter
Walleye are built for low light — the reflective eye layer means they feed most confidently at dawn, dusk, at night, and through the day when wind chop or stained water cuts the light. That is the famous walleye chop. Cloud cover, wind speed and water clarity logged against catches will explain more of your results than any lure choice.
Global Fishing League records 18 weather and water readings against every catch automatically — tide stage, barometric pressure, water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, swell, current, moon phase and more, taken at your GPS position at the moment you log the fish. Over a season that turns a hunch about walleye into a pattern you can read.
See every reading recorded with a catch, or the guides to what each reading means.
Size limits, bag limits and seasons
Size limits, bag limits, slot limits and seasons are set by your state wildlife agency — and for many offshore and migratory species by federal regulators — and on many waters they differ from the statewide rule. They also change between seasons. Check the current regulations for the exact water you are fishing before you keep a fish — we do not republish limits here, because a number that is a season out of date is worse than no number.
What the app does do is make your side of it accurate: every catch carries a length measured from the photograph, a GPS position and a timestamp, exportable if you ever need to show your work for a tournament or a record claim. It is also what a Global Fishing League entry is built from — a record that verifies itself, without publishing where you caught the fish.