Walleye
Sander vitreus
- When
- Active all year, though the way you fish or find it changes with the season.
- Where it holds
- Rock shoals, weed edges and river channels — deep by day, shallow at dusk.
- How to know it
- Olive-gold flanks, a spiny first dorsal, and the big glassy eye that gives it the name and lets it hunt in low light.
- What to know
- The most sought-after freshwater fish across the north. Light-shy: dawn, dusk and windy overcast days are best.
- The tactic
- Jig and minnow on the bottom, or troll a bottom bouncer along the 5–8 m break.
Seasons, size limits and catch limits change every year and differ by water body. Check the current regulations for your province or state before you fish.
Found in these regions
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Also active in September
FishMay–OctSmallmouth bass
Micropterus dolomieu
Bronze-brown with vertical bars, red eye, and a jaw that ends level with the eye — not past it.
Where and how to catch it →Photo: Joshua Johnson · CC BY 4.0
FishJan–JunNorthern pike
Esox lucius
Long torpedo body, duck-like jaws, light bean-shaped spots on a dark green flank.
Where and how to catch it →Photo: Daughter Dad · CC BY 4.0
FishJun–NovMuskellunge
Esox masquinongy
Like a pike but with dark bars on a light flank — the reverse pattern — and pointed tail lobes.
Where and how to catch it →Photo: Matt Garvin · CC BY-SA 4.0