Do walleye eat bluegills, frogs — or their own young?
Their own young, yes — and that one is solid science. Walleye cannibalism is well documented, and it tends to climb in years when young perch are scarce, which makes it one of the brakes on walleye year classes. Bluegills are eaten in weedy lakes, but a walleye grabs prey mid-body and swallows slim, soft-rayed fish far more easily than a spiny dinner plate, so sunfish stay a minor item. Frogs are angling lore rather than diet science: on some prairie and Midwest lakes anglers report a shoreline bite in fall when leopard frogs return to the water to winter, and it is worth knowing about, but no more than that. Mice and ducklings are simply not walleye food — this is a low-light fish hunter working near bottom, not a surface ambusher.
The full story
This answer is one piece of a longer lesson — setups, diagrams and the reasoning behind it.
More questions about Diet
- What do walleye mainly eat?
- Why do cisco and smelt lakes grow the biggest walleye?
- Why does the fishing die during the mayfly hatch?
- What size bait should I use for walleye?
- Does the walleye's menu change between day and night?
- Do walleye eat crayfish and gobies?
- Will walleye eat a dead minnow — and do they eat fish eggs or scuds?
Same topic, other species
- What do crappie NOT eat? — Crappie
- Will largemouth pick up dead or motionless bait? — Largemouth Bass
- What do muskie eat in southern reservoirs that have no ciscoes or perch? — Muskellunge (Muskie)
- Why is a piece of worm such a reliable perch bait — do perch eat worms and leeches naturally? — Yellow Perch
- Do pike ever eat insects, leeches and other invertebrates? — Northern Pike
- What do smallmouth eat in winter? — Smallmouth Bass
- Do trout eat suckers, sunfish or dead fish? — Trout (Rainbow · Brook · Lake)