Canadian Walleye Length - Weight Chart
 

I noticed over the years that the Canadian walleyes overall seem to be skinnier than their southern counterparts. Last trip up to Canada I started to make a chart of all length - weight measurements in half-inch increments. I was going to finish it during my next trip, but now I've lost it all because I dropped my phone in the lake. Has anyone else noticed this phenomenon as well? For instance, if you compare the Canadian walleye actual weights against the Northland Tackle size chart, all the Canadian walleye weights are lower. We go in late May or early June, so maybe it's a seasonal thing.

Follow-Up
 

Greetings,

I paused on the original poster's suggestion that the weight vs. length correlation might be a seasonal thing. I've noticed "seasonal" relationships on the lakes that I routinely fish in NW Ontario. I don't weigh fish at all, but sometimes measure their length. I catch myself thinking "hmhh, nice fish!" from time to time.

I sometimes fish during the opening weeks of the season in NW Ontario. The fish seem normal to me in terms of their length versus weight relationship. The fish are normally post-spawn in the early season.

The majority of my fishing has been during August and September. I occasionally catch a walleye that seems skinny to me during this time of the year. I've ascribed these fish to being unhealthy for whatever reason.

On the other hand, the majority of my walleye catches during the late season are what I consider to be hefty fish. It seems to me that the walleyes start putting on weight when they get around 17-18 inches. These fish can seriously bend a fishing rod.

It would be interesting to see actual data for length versus weight for walleyes in NW Ontario. Other followers on this forum might have insights worth hearing.

Thanks to the original poster for starting this thread.

Good fishing and tight lines!!

Walleye weights are constantly fluctuating. Different lakes have different food sources too. So, hi fat content on their primary food will create fatter walleye.


However, seasons are probably a bigger reason for a higher or lower weight than expected.

Doesn't the sex of the fish play a role too. We also say the big fish are female so it seems to me that a 17in female might be a bigger heavy fish than a 17in male. I guess we need a biologist to comment.

Also wonder if time of year might make a big difference. A 29 inch just spawned out female in May might look at lot different in Sept.

B-

I used to fish the Ottawa River and our Sportsmans Club did quite a bit of work with the MNR.

I remember being out in the shockboat with Biologist who told me the strain of Walleye in the Ottawa were very slow growing.

I suspect lots of strains of the species, with everything under the sun being relevant to the length to weight ratio.

I think most, but not all Canadian walleye [U]as they age[/U] can really get thin. We've caught a lot of twenty eight inch fish that I consider skinny and or just look old.

Then last year on LS my partner put a 28.5" walleye in the boat that looked and acted very young and I'm sure weighed much more than any 29+" walleye I've ever boated in my years in Canada. Girth was just huge along it's entire body. I lost a very similar fish my wife had on earlier in the year on the other end of LS because I screwed up the net job. Very very nice fish and very athletic! Didn't understand the meaning of give up. Both largest fish last year acted like a northern when netted. Just went berserk.

Pooch

Depends so much on the forage base.

A stated, it seems to depend on the forage available for the body of water. Discounting the to-be-expected weight loss immediately after spawn, my observations have been that waters which are fertile, i.e., shallower, less clear water, with an abundance of incoming streams, seem to have fish which are, on the average fatter. Clearer. deeper waters, many times referred to as infertile waters, seem to have fish which may not be as fat, even somewhat skinny, by comparison. This does not mean all fish, sometimes the longer fish in infertile water can be quite fat.

It also seems to matter in any body of water where the fish are located. My experience, and I know it may vary, has been a general observation that fish taken from mid lake rock piles, for example, may be more on the thin side, whereas weed taken fish seem to be fatter. As I understand it, crawfish, which usually are in rocks, do not have the amount of nutrients which minnows, et al ,have, so this, I think, may be the explanation.

My thoughts above, I realize, are a generalization, and other folks may have deducted otherwise, it is just the way it seems to me.

Bill

The thing I have noticed, and done completely with no scientific data, is that without question the fish I catch in June/early july are skinnier that those in August. But I always assumed it was because of the long winter then spawning opposed to gorging on minnows, the the mayfly hatch, and the warmer temps. It just happens to be the opposite for myself, again no specific scientific data to back it up.

Additional Background Information
 

Even though I love to fish for walleye, I'd have to say I'm primarily a bass fisherman. I practice C&R and typically measure the length, get a quick weight, and then pitch the fish back into the lake. I realize most walleye fishermen measure only length, but out of habit I still like to do both, which was the basis of my original question. My group has caught two 30" walleyes, one was a pre-spawn fish and it weighed 9-6, nearly 2 pounds lower than the chart below. I caught a post-spawn 30" walleye and although my scale wasn't working that year, I know it wasn't over 10 pounds either. In fact, I would have to say all of the fish we catch in Canada are significantly and consistently lower than the weights indicated in the chart shown below.

Walleye Length To Weight Conversion Chart (75th percentile fish, copied from In-Fisherman Online, Dr. Rob Neumann, 2016)

12 in 0.62 lb
13 in 0.79 lb
14 in 1.01 lb
15 in 1.25 lb
16 in 1.54 lb
17 in 1.87 lb
18 in 2.24 lb
19 in 2.66 lb
20 in 3.13 lb
21 in 3.65 lb
22 in 4.24 lb
23 in 4.88 lb
24 in 5.59 lb
25 in 6.36 lb
26 in 7.20 lb
27 in 8.12 lb
28 in 9.12 lb
29 in 10.20 lb
30 in 11.36 lb
31 in 12.60 lb
32 in 13.94 lb
33 in 15.38 lb
34 in 16.91 lb

Here is a chart I found several years ago .
Can't remember where I got it from..
But saved it on my computer for future reference, when asked by clients ..