A walleye program on Lake Pend Oreille has been largely successful but will likely need to continue indefinitely to balance the lake’s predator and prey populations and sustain one of the most popular recreational fisheries in Idaho.
November 28, 2023
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Walleye aren't bad fish, just wrong for Idaho
Fish and Game provides them in three reservoirs, but they keep showing up elsewhere
Idaho and walleye just aren’t a good match in most places, and here’s why. Walleye are native to large Midwestern lakes that tend to have large and prolific forage bases of minnows, shiners, chubs and other small baitfish. Those baitfish are not available in most Idaho waters, so walleye are likely to eat other game fish that are highly valued by Idaho anglers. Eventually, those other fish species could be gone, or greatly diminished, and the end result could be a bunch of unhealthy, unsustainable walleye populations.