The movements of walleyes tagged as yearlings in Lake Erie

A total of 3,998 yearling walleyes, Stizostedion vitreum vitreum (Mitchill), were captured, tagged, and released along the south shore of western Lake Erie to determine their movements and their dispersal from a known nursery area. Four hundred ninety-nine recoveries were made over a period of 3 years. Tagged walleyes traveled primarily north toward the islands in the Western Basin during their first year of liberation, and in succeeding years moved progressively toward the extreme western end of the lake. Some walleyes were recaptured within 6 months in the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair, the St. Clair River, and southern Lake Huron, and the percentage of fish recaptured in these waters north of Lake Erie increased annually. Movement eastward into the Central and Eastern Basins of the lake appeared negligible. The greatest distance traveled by a marked walleye was 236 miles. The average distance traveled by all tagged fish was 25 miles.