Controversy And Reality

The new mark of 22 pounds 11 ounces might be beaten, but probably not from any existing arena. The giants of the Tennessee Valley are ghosts of the past. Some biologists say the brontosaurus ‘eyes of Greer’s Ferry were the result of a diet rich in trout, which no longer exists to any great extent. And the Columbia River, as Wagner points out, has yet to produce a walleye much over 20 pounds, either from a net or by angling.

I’ve said it before—you’ll win the state lottery twice before hooking a 20, and you won’t land that one either. But that doesn’t mean you can’t break a record. In fact, an absolute parade of mammoth fish have trooped through the outdoor pages of late, many toppling state, provincial, or line-class marks.

Oklahoma and Ohio state records were broken last year, the latest shots fired in the recent battle of the bulge. In all, 19 state records for walleyes have been established since 1990. Some of those records stood for a long time before falling, one of many indications that this could be the best time in history to hook a fish over 15 pounds.

Safe money would bet that the advent of catch and release allows more fish to attain trophy size than ever before. Certainly, better fishery management keeps more populations at optimum size, while regulations like slot limits increase the number of trophy fish. Many more walleye waters exist now than 30 years ago, with the addition of so many reservoirs and the spreading popularity of walleyes coast to coast.

Critical contributions also came from the Clean Water Act (CWA) and environmentally minded fishing groups. When the CWA was adopted by Congress in 1971, Lake Erie was dying, her native walleyes all but extinct. The Detroit River and Saginaw Bay were cesspools. Green Bay and Lake Ontario were following Erie toward a filthy demise. Each of those fisheries now ranks among the best in the world, with proven potential to produce gargantuan walleyes, following monumental cleanup efforts.

Sources are expanding, but it probably won’t be enough to produce a world record any time soon. What does it take to produce a world record walleye? Long life spans, big water (where fish can escape pressure for many years), an efficient source of fuel (most notably shad, trout, alewives, or smelt), a long growing season, mild winters, the right genes, and incredible luck. Yet you could find all that and still not catch a 20 in a lifetime of trying.

The most accessible records today are probably of the line-class variety. According to the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame, the 25-pound line-class record is 10 pounds 9 ounces, which could be broken with relative ease on a long list of waterways around the continent. The record for 2-pound test is 10 pounds 3 ounces, which could certainly be attempted in most regions where walleyes swim. The 15- and 16-pound-test marks are both in the 12 pound range, well within reach.

Most other records require a walleye over 14 pounds. That might demand a little travel. The following waters deliver the best odds for bagging a walleye over 14 pounds today. Waters marked with an asterisk currently offer the best potential for producing a new world record.

Bay of Quinte, Ontario.

*Bull Shoals, Missouri.

*Columbia River, Washington-Oregon.

Fort Peck, Montana.

Fox River, Wisconsin.

*Greers Ferry, Arkansas.

Lake Erie, New York-Michigan-Ohio-Ontario-Pennsylvania.

Lake Ontario, New York-Ontario.

Saginaw Bay, Michigan.

St. Lawrence River, Quebec-New York-Ontario.

Tobin Lake, Saskatchewan.

Good luck. Should those walleye winds blow favorably upon you, just call and say, “This time it really is so, Joe!”