fish · The Trophy Room
Walleye
The best-eating freshwater fish in North America, and it has the eyes to prove it — big, glassy, marble-like eyes built for hunting in low light. Walleye have spread through the Columbia system into a genuine WA fishery, and a fillet off one is the reason people set the alarm for a dawn troll.
Identifying
- olive-gold body with a big, glassy, reflective eye — the "walleye" that names it
- two separate dorsal fins, the front one spiny; sharp teeth in the jaw
- a white tip on the lower tail lobe and dusky blotches along the flank
- built long and lean, a true low-light ambush predator
Facts
- the eye has a reflective layer (like a cat's) that lets it hunt at dusk and after dark — fish the low-light hours
- introduced to the Columbia and now a prized game and table fish across the basin
- firm, white, flaky fillets with no fishy edge — widely considered the finest freshwater eating there is
