Photo by Ted Peck.

The walleye is the reigning champion as the most popular fish in Wisconsin, based on a 2001 angling survey. Although the final tally of last year’s survey is not available yet, Department of Natural Resources fisheries supervisor Mike Staggs said it would likely remain our state’s most popular fish.

According to DNR data, 22.76 percent of anglers and 26.25 percent of all trips are spent chasing walleyes, compared with 15 percent for bass, 10 to 12 percent for bluegills, 4 percent for trout and only 3 to 5 percent for our state fish, the muskie.

The survey said walleyes represented only 10.9 percent of all fish caught and only 6.9 percent of all fish harvested, compared with 80 percent of panfish being released into hot grease.

Still, more walleyes find their way into a sandwich than bass with 4.3 percent harvested or muskies with 0.1 percent taken from the water.

The 2001 survey indicated Wisconsin anglers caught more than 69 million fish that year, keeping about 31 million. About 7.5 million were walleyes with more than 2 million ending up on the wall or dinner plate.

“I believe walleye fishing is very good in Wisconsin,” Staggs said. “We stock 2 to 3 million little walleyes annually to maintain fisheries that have little or no natural reproduction, but the vast majority of walleyes are from natural, self-propagating strains.”

According to Staggs, the biggest challenges faced by the DNR regarding walleyes are the scope and potential effect of viral hemorrhagic septicemia or VHS, a particularly lethal viral disease and development of trophy walleye fisheries. “Walleyes are a very popular eating fish, so we haven’t had much success convincing folks to voluntarily release walleyes to grow to trophy dimensions” he said.

“However, several fisheries, like most of the Wisconsin River system, have a slot limit in place protecting walleyes from 20 to 28 inches. These harvest restrictions may lead to establishment of the Wisconsin River system as a trophy walleye fishery, but it will take five to 10 years before we know for sure.”

River systems are notoriously tough to monitor scientifically in order to predict trends. Last year, a 28-inch slot went into effect on Escanaba Lake in Vilas County as a control experiment.

“It will take five to 10 years to see if there is a demand for this type of fishery,” Staggs said. “If this turns out to be the case, we may change management guidelines elsewhere.”

There are countless places across the state where a lucky angler may stumble into a 30-inch walleye that is generally considered a trophy benchmark. Only one fishery, Green Bay, is currently generating walleyes of dreadnaught dimensions on a regular basis.

Your best chances of catching a trophy walleye here are in early April when the spring run is at its peak. Fewer anglers congregate at the bay’s confluence with the Menominee River that borders Michigan about an hour’s drive north.

A great deal of credit for continued excellence on Green Bay goes to Walleyes For Tomorrow, which has 16 chapters across the state.

“Everybody seems to like what we are doing,” state WFT chairman Chris Arrowood said. “We have meetings, ask questions, size up a potential project and get it done with as little delay as possible. That’s what we’re all about -- clear, concise vision and no-nonsense project implementation.”