So, my parents had a spring-fed pond put in beside their house about 22 years ago. It's maybe 1/4 acre pond............8 or 9 feet maximum depth. The initial stocking was with golden shiners, yellow perch and walleye fingerlings. Later on some crappies and rainbow trout were added.

This past Saturday, my nephew was fishing in the pond and lost a 15-20 inch fish right at the bank. The way he described it.............it was a walleye. He knows it wasn't a trout or a perch.

Sooooooo................ Is it in any way possible that, #1........a walleye could live for 22 years ??? #2. That if it did live 22 years, it'd only be 15-20 inches ??? Or, #3..........that walleyes could spawn in a pond ?? There IS a shale rock bottom on the one end. But no real current of any sort.

I'm befuddled.

Probably spawned.

Walleye like to spawn on gravel in light to moderate current, but will sometimes spawn elsewhere, so there is a chance they could spawn in a spring fed pond. It's also possible someone tossed it in or that a bird dropped it in as a fingerling or egg.

Keith

We have a lot smaller pond and the walleye's spawned but the otter found it also an decimated the pop.

Anything is possible and yes stranger things can and will happen .if you have otters get busy and trap then next season just because of the above mentioned story .

I for one would truly enjoy my very own walleye pond !

Without seeing it you'll never know.

yes

Thanks for the replies !!

The shale bottom is actually loose shale rock, dumped in to make a shallower swimming area. So it would hold eggs. I always thought current was required. But I'd be tickled pink if there were reproducing walleyes in there !!!

Is it in any way possible that, #1........a walleye could live for 22 years ???

Male walleye in cold water can live to about twenty years, females to about twenty-five. The oldest recorded walleye was twenty-nine years old.

#2. That if it did live 22 years, it'd only be 15-20 inches ???

I'd guess that's possible given the limited food source available in a small pond.

Or, #3..........that walleyes could spawn in a pond ?? There IS a shale rock bottom on the one end. But no real current of any sort.

I think they could spawn. They spawn on the rocky shoals around an island that I stay at on a lake in northern NJ. No current at all there.

Sooo....................... It's possible for the fish in question to have been a walleye in a couple different ways.

I doubt it's one of the originals, due to its small size. The forage base in this pond is actually huge. The perch and shiners are reproducing well. And, theoretically, there could be some ancient sea-monster walleyes still in there. The shale bed in the shallow end DOES resemble a rocky shoal..............

This is really intriguing me. Maybe time to take my own rod over and do a little research. I have honestly maybe fished in the pond one time in the 22 years it's been there.

Walleye will also spawn in water grasses. Walleye in my pond did not reproduce as far as I can tell, yet they grew large and I think almost wiped out my Bull Frog population.

Yes, further research is needed!

If the pond is clear a snorkel and goggles would quickly solve the mystery.

I tried an underwater camera several years ago. But I think the failure was more the camera being junk than anything else. If I go breaking out my dive gear...........it'll be a month or two. The pond is VERY clear. But it's also just pretty darned cold !!!!!!!

Clear, cold and only 1/4 acre in size, it is certainly possible a 15-20 walleye could be 22 years old.

Walleyes spawn in the lake I have a house on. As a result, the DNR says there's no reason to ever stock the lake with walleyes.

Maybe a cousin, a Sauger?

1/4 acre pond, PA, unattended/maintained (?) for 22 yrs, 17" ish fish ..... prob not a walleye.
If it was, not likely only one. Easy enough to find out with some minnows or night crawlers for bait.
What ... ? no bass ? Bluegills ?
Oh yea ... walleyes would have cleaned them out .... along with everything else.
I doubt it.
Verify.

Not unattended/maintained. Just not fished much.

No bass or bluegills because Dad was adamantly against that combo. Bluegills explode and stay small unless you fish the crap out of them. Bass fight like boots. Dad was a walleye man. Put in a few walleyes and a bunch of perch and shiners. The pond still has a very good forage base of reproducing perch and shiners. Crappies were added later. Don't know if they are reproducing or not.

The "find out" is coming as soon as I get time.

One thing I didn't mention......... Nephew caught the mystery fish on a yellow twister tail jigged right off the bottom.