Walleye Sander vitreus

How they feed

• Water50–72°F, best near 62°
• TideEither, as long as it moves
• MoonNew
• DepthUsually 10–40 ft

Scored against their own temperature range and tide preference first, then wind, weather and warnings. Solunar periods only break ties. How the score works

Season by state

• MichiganApr–Jul, Sep–Nov
• MinnesotaMay–Jun, Sep–Oct
• PennsylvaniaMar–May, Oct–Nov
• ColoradoMar–May, Oct–Dec
• MarylandMar–May, Oct–Dec
• OhioMar–May, Oct–Nov
• New YorkApr–Jun, Sep–Nov
• IowaApr–May, Oct–Nov
• KansasMar–May, Oct–Dec
• North DakotaApr–Jun, Oct
• NebraskaMar–May, Oct–Dec
• South DakotaApr–May, Oct–Nov
• TennesseeOct–May
• VermontApr–Jun, Sep–Nov
• WisconsinApr–Jun, Oct–Nov
• West VirginiaFeb–May, Oct–Dec
• ArkansasNov–May
• IllinoisFeb–May, Oct–Dec
• IndianaApr–Jun, Oct–Dec
• MissouriFeb–May, Oct–Dec
• MontanaApr–Jun, Sep–Nov
• VirginiaMar–May, Oct–Dec
• WyomingMar–May, Oct–Dec
• KentuckyOct–May
• New MexicoNov–Apr
• UtahNov–Apr

The Maryland, Delaware and Virginia months are the Chesapeake-region season. Everywhere else it is carried over by water temperature: a month counts at a spot when its usual water is in the range that marks the mid-Atlantic season (42–69°F), from the spot’s own gauge where it has one and an estimate from air temperature where it doesn’t. Each state lists the months that hold at half or more of its spots. Where the water temperatures come from.

Keep or release

• Arkansas6 a dayArkansas statewide: 6 walleye a day. Beaver, Bull Shoals and Norfork are 18" and 4 a day.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Colorado non-tidal5 a dayColorado statewide: 5 walleye, saugeye and sauger a day combined, no minimum; 10 in the Arkansas and South Fork Republican drainages. Several Front Range reservoirs set an 18" minimum.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Illinois14" minimum · 6 a dayIllinois: 14" minimum, 6 walleye, sauger and saugeye a day combined. No minimum on the Mississippi and Wabash rivers.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Indiana16" minimum · 6 a dayIndiana statewide rule north of State Road 26, Lake Michigan included: 16" minimum, 6 a day (walleye, sauger and saugeye combined).Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Iowa non-tidal5 a dayIowa inland waters: 5 walleye, sauger and saugeye a day combined, no statewide minimum. Spirit Lake and the Okobojis protect walleye from 19 to 25" (3 a day); the Mississippi River is 15" with a 20–27" protected slot (6 a day).Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Kansas non-tidal15" minimum · 5 a dayKansas (K.A.R. 115-25-14): 15" minimum, 5 walleye, sauger and saugeye a day combined. The 15" minimum does not apply in streams, rivers and tailwaters. KDWP posts different limits on some reservoirs.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Kentucky14" minimum · 6 a dayKentucky statewide: 14" minimum, 6 walleye, sauger and hybrids a day combined. Barren River and the Cumberland above the falls protect walleye from 18 to 26" and allow 2 a day.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Maryland non-tidal15" minimum · 5 a dayMaryland nontidal waters: 15" minimum, 5 a day (10 in possession), open all year. On the Potomac main stem from about half a mile above Chain Bridge to Cumberland, walleye over 20" must be released Jan 1–Apr 15. Deep Creek Lake and the Youghiogheny below the Route 42 bridge are closed Mar 1–Apr 15.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Maryland tidal15" minimum · 5 a day15" minimum, 5/day, open year-round.Tidal bay waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Michigan15" minimum · 5 a dayLower Peninsula Great Lakes: 15" minimum, 5 a day, open all year.Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Minnesota6 a dayMinnesota: 6 walleye and sauger a day combined, only 1 walleye over 20". Season runs from the opener (Saturday two weeks before Memorial Day weekend) to the last Sunday in February. Many lakes have their own limits.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Missouri15" minimum · 4 a dayMissouri: 15" minimum, 4 walleye and sauger a day combined. Table Rock, Bull Shoals, Norfork, Wappapello, Long Branch and the Current and Eleven Point rivers are 18"; the Mississippi River has no minimum and allows 8.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Montana Central District5 a dayCentral District: 5 walleye and sauger a day, only 2 sauger; 10 in possession, only 4 sauger.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Montana Eastern District5 a dayEastern District: 5 walleye and sauger a day, only 2 sauger; 10 in possession, only 4 sauger.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Nebraska non-tidal15" minimum · 4 a dayNebraska inland waters: 4 walleye, sauger and saugeye a day in aggregate, 8 in possession, 15" minimum, only one 22" or longer.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 18, 2026 · source · 8 days since checked
• New Mexico non-tidal5 a dayNew Mexico: 5 walleye a day, 10 in possession.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• New York18" minimum · 3 a dayLake Ontario and the St. Lawrence: 18" minimum, 3 walleye a day, May 1–Mar 15; closed Mar 16–Apr 30.Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• New York15" minimum · 5 a dayNew York statewide, Oneida Lake included: 15" minimum, 5 walleye a day, May 1–Mar 15; closed to all walleye fishing Mar 16–Apr 30. Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence are 18" and 3 a day.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• North Dakota non-tidal5 a dayNorth Dakota (2026–28 proclamation): 5 walleye, sauger and saugeye a day combined (10 in possession), no minimum except at Buffalo Lake, Jamestown and Pipestem reservoirs and Lake Elsie (14").Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Ohio15" minimum · 6 a dayLake Erie Sport Fishing District, the Maumee and Sandusky runs included: walleye, sauger and saugeye combined, 15" minimum, 6 a day (May 1, 2026–Apr 30, 2027).Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Oklahoma14" minimum · 6 a dayOklahoma: 14" minimum, 6 walleye, sauger and saugeye a day combined.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Pennsylvania15" minimum · 6 a dayLake Erie and Presque Isle Bay: 15" minimum, 6 a day. Open Jan 1–Mar 14 and from the first Saturday in May (May 1 in 2027) to Dec 31.Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Pennsylvania15" minimum · 6 a day15" minimum, 6 a day. Closed from Mar 15 until the first Saturday in May (May 1 in 2027).Non tidal waters · verified Oct 21, 2026 · source
• South Dakota non-tidal4 a daySouth Dakota: 4 walleye a day (8 in possession), only 1 of them 20" or longer. Lake Sharpe and Lake Francis Case add a 15" minimum outside July and August.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Tennessee16" minimum · 5 a dayTennessee: 16" minimum, 5 walleye a day. Sauger and sauger hybrids are a separate 10 a day with a 15" minimum.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Utah non-tidal10 a dayUtah statewide: 10 walleye a day, only 1 over 24".Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Vermont non-tidal18" minimum · 3 a dayVermont and Lake Champlain: 18" minimum, 3 walleye a day, from the first Saturday in May to Mar 15; catch and release with artificial lures otherwise.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Virginia non-tidal (VDWR)18" minimum · 5 a dayVirginia statewide: 5 walleye and saugeye a day combined, none under 18". Claytor Lake and the New River up to Fries Dam: 2 walleye a day, none 19–28".Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• West Virginia8 a dayWest Virginia: 8 walleye, sauger and saugeye a day, no statewide minimum. Several lakes and rivers protect walleye from 20 to 30".Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Wisconsin15" minimum · 5 a day (Jan 1–Mar 7, May 1–Dec 31); 15" minimum · 1 a day (Mar 8–Apr 30)Lake Michigan and Green Bay north of Waldo Boulevard, Manitowoc: 15" minimum; 5 a day May 2, 2026–Mar 7, 2027 and 1 a day Mar 8–Apr 30, 2027 (it was 1 a day Mar 2–May 1, 2026). South of Waldo Boulevard: 5 a day all year. The Fox River from the mouth to the De Pere dam has its own rule: 1 a day at 28" in the spring windows, 3 a day with no minimum May 2–Mar 7.Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Wisconsin non-tidal15" minimum · 3 a dayWisconsin inland: 15" minimum, 3 walleye and sauger a day in total, from the first Saturday in May to the first Sunday in March. Ceded Territory lakes and many others set their own limits.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Wyoming non-tidal6 a dayWyoming statewide: 6 walleye a day. Bighorn and Wind River drainage walleye and sauger must be kept whole until you are off the water.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source

Rules change, and they differ by state and often by water. Each spot page shows the limits for its own water. Walleye are fished at spots in 26 states: Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.