Blue Pickerel AKA Blue Walleye

[zippyFX]

Not the extinct one.... But the walleye variant

I was fishing at Petrie Island on the Ottawa River one night this week and I caught a small walleye. As I was reeling it in I thought I had caught a large mouth because it of the colour I was seeing (more grey and pale than olive) . I was surprised to see that it was a small walleye (about 8 inches) with very light coloration and none of the walleye patterns I have come to expect, I thought it was just a juvenile walleye so I just unhooked it and tossed it back in.

I was wondering (and practicing my identification) so I decided to see what a juvenile walleye looked like. To my surprise the pictures I have seen have them looking like miniature walleye colour and all. This got me wondering, did I catch a blue walleye or is this usually explained by natural variation?

Anyone know if Blue Walleye can be found in the Ottawa River.

Kicking myself again for not taking a picture!

[Jeremy Ray Green]

Blue walleye is a very interesting topic,

Any type of Walleye can turn "BLUE" no matter the DNA,

It is a form of "SUNSCREEN"
You will notice that BLue walleye will be found more in shallow water bodies, has nothing to do with the water temp, it has to do with the amount of sun they are exposed to over time.

A really neat thing to do with a "BLUE" walleye is take a clean paper towel or paper that is white, and you will notice the slime is also "BLUE"

walleye breed by the same parents, can be blue while their siblings stay the normal "OLIVE" we are most accustom too..

~Jeremy

[MichaelAngelo]

moved to General Discussion.

Here's a neat article I found circling around the actual, extinct blue walleye http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/volunteer/jul..._pike.html

[Jeremy Ray Green]

there is a specific DNA strain of Blue Walleye, that is considered to be extinct, if the DNA in minnesota, is the same as the specimens thay have from the erie strain than that would be great, but we dont see any group jumponing on the chance to harvest one of those fish for a DNA sample...

Any Walleye will or Can go Blue, I believe it is a Natural instinct of the fish specimen, and their life cycle...

If a blue eye breeds it may pass on traits of the waters it was living in, that cause the fish to go blue, to It's young...


but a blue Eye will still breed Olive eyes too



If you want a good chance of catching a "BLUE" walleye,

you should take a trip to lake Kapuskasing, in Elsas ontario.

Contact Richard Gosenda at gosenda lodge,
1 705 268 2476

he will set you up with the train ride to the middle of no where and back, and get you on some of the best fishing experiences that northern ontario has to offer.


Let him know, Jeremy Green sent you ...

[MuskieBait]

It's like the search for the coelacanth...although the coelacanth has already been found...and there are actually two living species.

[smokerings]

I just came back from a lake near the Ottawa River in Northern QC close to the ON border.
All of the walleye we caught had a blue tinge to them.

[Johnnyfishing]

Very Interesting topic!

I've been in interested in finding one of these elusive an supposedly extinct fish too.. I remember watching a fishing show as a kid where they were catching walleye with actual bright blue bellies somewhere up in central Ontario or QUebec.... Mind you it's hard enough catching any walleye !