The Key Steps In Understanding Walleye Length To Weight Chart

Last Updated on September 8, 2024 by Sara Rose

Walleyes are a good fish choice for many aquaponics systems for many reasons. This is why we created this article to understand everything about raising walleyes and how to read the walleye length to weight chart! 

Walleye fishes are a golden olive color and are generally found in North American cold waters. The scientific name of the walleye is sander vitreus. Another name walleye is commonly known as is yellow pike.

Walleyes’ fast growth rates and tasty flavors make it an ideal choice for an aquaponics system. Whenever you make a fish selection, you need to understand its growth patterns. This will help you assess if your fish are being kept in healthy conditions.

In fact, this fish species is considered to be one of the easiest ones you can put in your aquaponics.  

This is why it is important for you to understand a walleye length to weight chart. Learning this skill will definitely help you in the future! 

Walleye Length And Weight Calculator

Before we learn about the exact length-to-weight ratios for walleyes, let’s learn about their spawning habits and growth patterns.  

According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the average walleye weight is between 1-2 pounds in natural waters. In certain cases, however, you can find walleyes that are over 10 pounds! 

The Department of Natural Resources also mentions, “The walleye is named for its pearlescent eye, which is caused by the tapetum lucidum, a reflective layer of pigment that helps the fish to see and feed at night or in turbid water.”

It is said that these eyes point outward, which is reminiscent of staring at a wall. This is how it got its name: the wall-eye.

Their torpedo-shaped slim body allows them to swim fast through the waters. Walleyes like to live in shallow, wide lakes that contain gravel sandbanks.  

The walleye is popular for sport fishing. This is why many governments purposely stock their local ponds and streams with walleye.  

When walleyes are ready to procreate, they prefer to lay their eggs in gravel piles 1- 6 feet deep in freshwater. They usually look for places that have a strong current because it protects the nest from getting contaminated by water debris.  

The optimum temperature range for walleyes to spawn is between 42-50 degrees Fahrenheit. So if you want to breed walleyes, you will have to create a low-temperature range. 

Walleye Growth And Weight

When the eggs hatch, they will swim to cooler patches of water that are away from the light. Walleyes are carnivorous and begin to eat larger fish as they grow bigger.  

Once they reach adult size, they love to eat yellow perch. They catch this yellow perch in the early evening in shallow waters. 

Growth rates are heavily affected by the food available and the health of their ecosystem. Walleyes usually live between 12-15 years old. At this age, they can get between 24-26 inches long. 

If you want to estimate walleye weight based on their length, you can use walleye length in the weight chart. This kind of chart lists the approximate weights in correlation to lengths. So, if you know the length of the fish, you can guess the weight and vice versa.  

This chart can easily be found online. It is very easy to use. Simply, locate the length of your walleye on the walleye length to weight chart and find the listed weight next to it.  

On average, a fish that is between 24-26 inches is around 5.5 – 7 pounds in weight. Females have the responsibility to produce eggs, and so they grow at a faster rate than males. In fact, they can often grow at the double the rate of males!  

So, the growth rate depends on many different factors. Some of those factors are whether it is a male or female, food available, ecosystem health, and exact species.  

By the first year of their life, walleyes are usually around 12 inches and around 0.5 pounds. You always need to make sure to understand the growth rate of your fish when stocking your aquaponics tank.  

Always keep in mind your tank size and how much capacity it has for fishes at different ages. If you stock your tank with fingerlings, they will grow fast. You do not want to run out of room in your tank once the babies reach their young adult size.

Walleye Length To Weight And Tank Size

If you plan on keeping a walleye until it is a full adult at 12-15 years old, you will need a very large tank. In fact, you need around 200 gallons minimum to keep only one adult walleye that is 30 inches!

However, if you plan on harvesting your fish when they are only 1-2 years old, you can keep a much higher amount. Always pay attention to the conditions of your tank and how it is impacting your fish’s health.

If you notice that your tank is getting overcrowded, try to remove some of your walleye. Overcrowding is a serious problem for your aquaponics system. This can result in the death of your fish and the need to restart your whole project.

Walleyes are very versatile fish that can survive in a wide range of temperatures. This makes it a nice candidate for someone who wants to grow a diverse range of vegetables. In fact, it is usually a good pair for almost all veggies! 

Understanding a walleye length to weight chart will help you estimate how many fish your tank can hold. It also helps you assess how many pounds of fish your system will produce.  

It is not a hard thing to do. Once you have read this article, you can quickly and easily read a walleye length to weight chart. 

As with any aquaponics system, it takes care and attention. Take your time to understand how your walleyes react to certain conditions. If you notice a problem, try to troubleshoot different aspects to see which one solves the problems best.

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