Editing Walleye (section)

== Fishing ==
{{Main article|Walleye fishing}}
Because walleyes are popular with anglers, [[fishing]] for walleyes is regulated by most natural resource agencies. [[Fisheries management|Management]] may include the use of quotas and length limits to ensure that populations are not [[Overfishing|overexploited]]. For example, in [[Michigan]], walleyes shorter than {{convert|15|in|cm|abbr=on}} may not be legally kept.

Since walleyes have excellent visual acuity under low illumination levels, they tend to feed more extensively at dawn and dusk, on cloudy or overcast days, and under choppy conditions when light penetration into the water column is disrupted. Although anglers interpret this as light avoidance, it is merely an expression of the walleyes' competitive advantage over their prey under those conditions. Similarly, in darkly stained or [[Turbidity|turbid]] waters, walleyes tend to feed throughout the day. In the spring and fall, walleyes are located near the shallower areas due to the spawning grounds, and they are most often located in shallower areas during higher winds due to the murkier, higher oxygenated water at around six feet deep.<ref>Joe Fellegy, Jr., Walleyes and Walleye Fishing (Dillon Press, 1974), 57, 58</ref> On calm spring days, walleyes are more often located at the deep side of the shoreline drop-off and around shore slopes around or deeper than 10 feet.<ref>Fellegy, 60</ref>

As a result of their widespread presence in Canada and the northern United States, walleyes are frequently caught while [[ice fishing]], a popular winter pastime throughout those regions.

"Walleye chop" is a term used by walleye [[fisherman|anglers]] for rough water typically with winds of {{convert|10|to|25|km/h|mph|0|abbr=on}}, and is one of the indicators for good walleye fishing due to the walleyes' increased feeding activity during such conditions. In addition to fishing this chop, night fishing with live bait can be very effective.

The current all-tackle world record for a walleye is held by Mabry Harper, who caught an 11.34-kg (25-lb) walleye in Old Hickory Lake in Tennessee on 2 August 1960.<ref>{{cite web | title=IGFA All-Tackle World Record | year=1960 | author=International Game and Fish Association | publisher=IGFA | url=http://wrec.igfa.org/WRecordsList.aspx?lc=AllTackle&cn=Walleye | access-date=20 April 2014}}</ref> LeRoy Chiovitte holds the Minnesota state-record walleye he caught on May 13, 1979 on the Seagull River near Saganaga Lake. The fish weighed 17 pounds, eight ounces, was 35.75 inches long and had a girth of 21.25 inches.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-27 |title=Minnesota's state record walleye is going home |url=https://www.twincities.com/2022/02/27/minnesotas-state-record-walleye-is-going-home/ |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=Twin Cities |language=en-US}}</ref>