I have a couple of basic questions on walleye spawning on Mille Lacs. What temperature is the spawn occuring? I have read 40-45, 42-50, 40-55. Seems like no one really agrees this for sure.
The other question is where? I know rock and gravel is a typical, but do they spawn in the Malmo sand? I have assumed so since this area has so many boats. Or is there rock along the shoreline that they are using?
I always thought the bottom number to trigger the egg laying was 42' ??? Also, I think the majority, leave the Main lake and go up creeks and rivers, into the shallows.... not all, but most.
Spawning occurs in the spring or early summer, depending on latitude and water temperature. Northern populations do not spawn in some years when the water temperature is not favorable. Normally, spawning begins shortly after ice breaks up in a lake, at temperatures of 44.6° to 48.2°F but has been known to occur over a range of from 42.8° to 51.8°F.
Courtship may commence much earlier when water temperature is at 33.8 F. The males move to the spawning grounds first. These are usually rocky areas in flowing water below impassible falls and dams in rivers and streams, coarse-gravel shoals, or along rubble shores of lakes at depths of less than 6ft. The walleye may move into tributary rivers immediately after they are free of ice and while the lakes are still ice covered. Spawning takes place at night, in groups of one large female and one or two smaller males or two females and numerous males.
The male walleye is not territorial, and does not build a nest. Prior to spawning, there is a lot of pursuit, pushing, circular swimming, and fin erection. Finally, the spawning group rushes upward into shallow water, stops, the females roll on their sides, release their eggs and simultaneously milt is released by the males. Apparently females deposit most of their eggs in one night of spawning. The fertilized eggs are heavier than the water and fall into crevices in the stream or lake bottom where they stick to stones and debris. The maximum number of eggs released by one female has been estimated at 612,000.
The eggs hatch in 12 to 18 days on the spawning grounds and by 10 to 15 days after hatching the young have dispersed into the upper levels of open water. By the latter part of the summer, young-of the-year move toward the bottom. Growth is fairly rapid in the south, but slower in more northerly latitudes. Females grow more quickly than males.
they are free of ice and while the lakes are still ice covered. Spawning takes place at night, in groups of one large female and one or two smaller males or two females and numerous males.
