Walleye
Stizostedion vitreum vitreum

 
 


 












Common names:                                                                                      walleye

wall-eyed pike
yellow pikeperch
yellow pike
pickerel
dory or dore
jack,
jack salmon
white salmon
okow
glasseye
green pike
Susquehanna salmon

 
 
Walleye are piscivorous fish common to the Great Lakes and inland waters.  They spawn in either lakes or streams, depending on local water conditions.  Also, there is evidence of a heritable component of spawning site selection (i.e. there are genetically driven river spawning stocks and lake spawning stocks.)  In impounded systems, (such as the Au Sable) the tail waters of dams may be used as spawning grounds.
Adult walleye feed on some invertebrates (such as mayflies, chironomids, and crayfish), but the primary component of their diet is fish.  They will forage on shiners and other minnows, alewife, yellow perch, white sucker fry, and other available prey fish.    Their diets may vary seasonally according to prey availability.  There is little evidence of cannibalism in walleye populations.


Walleye were stocked into the Au Sable system above Alcona dam until 1990.  The original stock came from the Muskegon River, although the population is presently naturally reproducing.  DePhilip (1997) found that most walleye activity occurred near sunset and continued into the night.  The most overall movement occurred in April and May as walleye moved from the Alcona Dam Pond to the tailwaters of Mio Dam to spawn.  Some walleye stayed in the river all summer, others moved back to the reservoir in the fall.  All walleye that DePhilip tracked overwintered in Alcona Dam Pond.