blue walleye

[walleye2go]

The blue walleye you guys mention are actually just a color variation. Yes I know the Canadians up north call them blue walleye but they are not the same blue walleye that called Lake Erie home. The blue walleye in Lake Erie were a sub species of the walleye we know today. Apart from being genetically different they also had physical characteristics that we're different from our walleye today. From what I understand, they were more gray in color than blue, but the biggest most distinguishing difference was their eye spacing. If I remember right, they didn't get nearly as big and they preferred a deeper colder habitat also. I'm no expert, but I was intrigued with their demise and a couple years ago I did some reading on them, what little there is available. I believe they also tried to stock some in some lakes in Minnesota, but they didn't take and disappeared from those lakes. I read an article somewhere that said when they were nearly extinct in Erie, they went and searched those lakes hoping they could find some brood stock to repopulate Erie with. According to the scientists, there are no known blue walleye, meaning those that are a genetic match to the blue walleye that existed in Lake Erie. It is hard for me to believe that in all of Lake Erie not one blue walleye exists, but I think it has been 50 years since a known blue walleye was turned into scientists. I believe blue walleye were also only native in Lake Erie.

Greg

[Bggeary]

Interesting