Why are walleye seasons closed in spring across most of Canada?

Because the spawn concentrates a huge share of a lake's adult walleye — including essentially all its big females — into a few small, shallow, absurdly accessible places at once: a river mouth, a rapids pool, one reef. Fish that are scattered and hard to catch for eleven months become easy for a few weeks, and because walleye home to the same sites annually, heavy harvest there can damage a specific spawning stock for years. Hence the near-universal spring closures across Canadian provinces and many northern US states, with season openers timed for when biology says the spawn is done — mid-May in much of Ontario, varying by zone and latitude. The regulations differ by zone and change year to year, so checking your zone's dates each season is part of the sport, not paperwork.

Browse every question