Hobbies And Interests
Physical Differences
The walleye's most obvious characteristic is its large and glassy eye that has an ability to reflect light during the nighttime hours, permitting it to see well in the dark. The fish also has a top, or dorsal, fin separated into two sections, with the first being hard and spiny and the second portion being much softer. A walleye is long and has a rounded shape, canine teeth in its mouth and a forked tail. The elongated and missile-like pickerel uses its greenish-yellow coloring and chain-link markings on its back and side to blend into its habitat. The pickerel has a mouth full of sharp teeth and a telltale mark below its eye on each side of its head that resembles a black tear. Pickerel have long snouts and their rear fins sit far back on their bodies close to their tails.
Geography
The walleye occurs throughout northern and central Canada, from the Northwest Territory eastward to Hudson Bay, according to the "National Audubon Society Field Guide to Fishes." They are common in the Great Lakes south through the Mississippi River system into Arkansas. Chain pickerel live from Maine south to Florida and west to Louisiana and eastern sections of Arkansas and Missouri.
Habitat
Typical walleye habitat includes big lakes, usually greater than 50 acres in size, as well as large rivers and streams. Walleyes prefer cool and deep water, where the bottom has a composition of gravel, rock or sand, states the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. Walleyes avoid waters less than 10 feet deep, while the pickerel is a shallow-water species for the most part. Pickerel hang about submerged weed beds, stumps and logs in venues like bogs, swamps, small and large ponds, shallow lakes and slow-moving sections of rivers. They will live in large lakes and in deep water but normally reside in the shallow parts.
Feeding
Fish species including bass, perch and sunfish compose most of the diet of the walleye. These fish live in schools, ranging across their habitat in search of food. The pickerel is a solitary hunter, often waiting concealed and launching an ambush on unsuspecting prey as it swims by. Aquatic fare like crayfish, frogs, bugs, snakes and other fish are on the pickerel's large menu. Both walleye and pickerel feed actively in winter, one trait they do share that makes them a favorite target of ice anglers.