Would This Be Considered a Trophy Walleye?

[Lucky Craft Man]

I apologize for my ignorance on this subject as I am not a Walleye Fisherman by any means.  I have caught a handful of Walleye by accident over the years Smallmouth fishing, which was the case this past weekend.  I hooked this Walleye on a drop shot and thought I hit pay dirt with a big Smallmouth.  After about 10 seconds, I realized the fish wasn't coming up, like Smallmouth do, and I had something else on.  It turned out to be this 31.5" x 17" Walleye that weighed 10lb. 10oz.  I know where the Trophy Threshold is for Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass, Musky, Trout and Steelhead lie (all fish I persue regularly), but I have no idea what guys in the Walleye World consider a Trophy Fish.  I do understand this is a big fish, but in searching for what people consider a Trophy, I have seen guys who say a Trophy is over 10lb, but other guys say you don't have a Trophy on your hands unless you break 13lbs.  Also, maybe length is more of a consideration, like for musky.  If so, what would a Trophy length be for a Walleye?  I really have no clue (I am so out of touch with the Walleye Community).  I figured I would open up the Question here as I don't really participate in any other fishing forum.  Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

 

[soflabasser]

Nice walleye! I would consider that a trophy sized walleye.

[Vilas15]

30" or 10 lbs is a trophy for sure. Where'd you catch it? They might be more common in some locations than others but no doubt thats a beast.

[RoLo]

 

    Congratulations, that's a trophy walleye and gorgeous fish.

 

    WEIGHT CLASSES

    ADULT-CLASS:          3½ lb

    TROPHY-CLASS:       9 lb

    RECORD-CLASS:      14 lb   

    WORLD RECORD:     22 lb  11oz   Greers Ferry Lk, AR   3/14/82 

 

Roger

[A-Jay]

It sure is ~ Nice Walleye.

Looked like a gorgeous day on the water

I think I recognize that area 

btw, you have 'the presentation' down pat.

Congrats

A-Jay

[Teal]

Whooo hooooo.   Congratulations brother!  That is one gorgeous fish!   You are a trophy ?catcher!   

 

Should we expect a new replica going to the wall ?

 

I am so excited for you.  I showed it to my son, he said "I hear ya big dawg"

[Lucky Craft Man]

7 hours ago, Vilas15 said:

30" or 10 lbs is a trophy for sure. Where'd you catch it? They might be more common in some locations than others but no doubt thats a beast.

It was on Lake Erie, which for that waterway, people certainly catch bigger ones.  However, being that I never fish for them, I may go the rest of my life without catching one larger.

5 hours ago, RoLo said:

 

    Congratulations, that's a trophy walleye and gorgeous fish.

 

    WEIGHT CLASSES

    ADULT-CLASS:          3½ lb

    TROPHY-CLASS:       9 lb

    RECORD-CLASS:      14 lb   

    WORLD RECORD:     22 lb  11oz   Greers Ferry Lk, AR   3/14/82 

 

Roger

 

Thanks Roger!  You may need to post those categories for all the main species of Freshwater Fish for reference (I would be especially interested in your Smallmouth and Musky Class Levels).  That was very useful in putting the fish I caught in perspective.

53 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

It sure is ~ Nice Walleye.

Looked like a gorgeous day on the water

I think I recognize that area 

btw, you have 'the presentation' down pat.

Congrats

A-Jay

Thanks A-Jay.  I'm pretty sure you know that place.  And I agree, that maybe one of my better "presentations" as there was so much belly fat, I could tuck those fingers right in to make for a "clean" hold (which consiquently makes the fish look really big...heh heh)

47 minutes ago, Teal said:

Whooo hooooo.   Congratulations brother!  That is one gorgeous fish!   You are a trophy ?catcher!   

 

Should we expect a new replica going to the wall ?

 

I am so excited for you.  I showed it to my son, he said "I hear ya big dawg"

 

I don't know about a Trophy Catcher as this one was totally by accident.  Now if I was targetting Walleye, then I would be a little more proud of this catch, but as my hat says, this was a "Lucky" happenstance.  

 

As far as a replica goes, I mentioned to my wife if she would be opposed to another fish on the wall and she said, "As soon as my home improvement projects are paid for, you can get a replica of that fish."  That is a code phrase for "Never."

[Team9nine]

Great fish. In the walleye world, 30” is the standard mark of a trophy class fish, similar to the 20” mark for smallmouth guys or 50” for muskie. Why greenies go in pounds (10lb.) is a mystery.

[Vilas15]

27 minutes ago, Lucky Craft Man said:

It was on Lake Erie, which for that waterway, people certainly catch bigger ones.  However, being that I never fish for them, I may go the rest of my life without catching one larger.

I was going to mention thats one place where walleye are typically very big, but its impressive none the less. Where I fish Id consider a 27" or 28" a trophy.

[Teal]

25 minutes ago, Lucky Craft Man said:

I don't know about a Trophy Catcher as this one was totally by accident.  Now if I was targetting Walleye, then I would be a little more proud of this catch, but as my hat says, this was a "Lucky" happenstance.  

 

As far as a replica goes, I mentioned to my wife if she would be opposed to another fish on the wall and she said, "As soon as my home improvement projects are paid for, you can get a replica of that fish."  That is a code phrase for "Never."

Dude, stop being modest, sure you werent targeting walleye, but think about it this way... there are so many things that can go wrong in landing any 10 lb sport fish...especially on a drop shot rig and I'm guessing lighter tackle.  Sooooo many guys would have lost that fish.  You obviously did everything right is detecting the bite, getting a hook set, keeping the fish on and not allowing it to break you off while using what I would guess is lighter gear.  When your number was called to haul in a double digit fish, you answered the call flawlessly.  I love the msodesty, but give your self some credit, for being in the right place, fishing the right lure, and answering the door when big mama walleye came knocking!

[roadwarrior]

49 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

Great fish. In the walleye world, 30” is the standard mark of a trophy class fish, similar to the 20” mark for smallmouth guys or 50” for muskie. Why greenies go in pounds (10lb.) is a mystery.

[Lucky Craft Man]

43 minutes ago, Teal said:

Dude, stop being modest, sure you werent targeting walleye, but think about it this way... there are so many things that can go wrong in landing any 10 lb sport fish...especially on a drop shot rig and I'm guessing lighter tackle.  Sooooo many guys would have lost that fish.  You obviously did everything right is detecting the bite, getting a hook set, keeping the fish on and not allowing it to break you off while using what I would guess is lighter gear.  When your number was called to haul in a double digit fish, you answered the call flawlessly.  I love the msodesty, but give your self some credit, for being in the right place, fishing the right lure, and answering the door when big mama walleye came knocking!

Well, I appreciate the kind words.  I was using 6lb. Test on a Medium Light Spinning Rod, but Walleye aren't the worlds greatest fighting fish...haha.  However, I will say, I wasn't really thinking Walleye after I knew it wasn't a Smallmouth, because all the other Walleye I have accidently caught did not pull like this sucker did.  She did pull the drag out some, which made the whole fish catching experience fun. 

[gim]

No doubt a trophy walleye in my book.  Like others have mentioned, the 10 pound/30 inch thresh hold is a good benchmark for walleyes in most places.

 

As for landing it on 6 pound test...most walleye anglers use 6 or 8 pound test anyways.  Walleyes aren't really known for being fighters when hooked but obviously a heavy one like that is gonna feel like an anchor compared to most others.  I've never caught one that big but I've caught plenty in the 24-27 inch range and they come in like a wet shoe most of the time, even on 6 pound line.

[Dwight Hottle]

Sweet fish Steve. I would frame that photo & hang it on the wall. As others have said the holy grail for walleye fisherman is 30" or 10 lbs across north America. 30" walleye benchmark is like the 50" musky benchmark. But since you are fishing the walleye capital of the world Lake Erie 10lbers are much more frequently caught & don't raise too many eyebrows. Really hard core walleye guys consider any teenager (13-19 lbs) to be a trophy. I equate a 6lb smallmouth to a 10lb walleye or a 10lb largemouth regarding rarity. Your 7lb smallies are the equal of a 13lb walleye or a 12lb largemouth or a 54" musky in my book. I have fished for walleye frequently in my past & caught two over twelve but never caught that teenager I lusted after.    

[J Francho]

Definitely get that pic printed and framed!

[roadwarrior]

1 hour ago, Dwight Hottle said:

Sweet fish Steve. I would frame that photo & hang it on the wall. As others have said the holy grail for walleye fisherman is 30" or 10 lbs across north America. 30" walleye benchmark is like the 50" musky benchmark. But since you are fishing the walleye capital of the world Lake Erie 10lbers are much more frequently caught & don't raise too many eyebrows. Really hard core walleye guys consider any teenager (13-19 lbs) to be a trophy. I equate a 6lb smallmouth to a 10lb walleye or a 10lb largemouth regarding rarity. Your 7lb smallies are the equal of a 13lb walleye or a 12lb largemouth or a 54" musky in my book. I have fished for walleye frequently in my past & caught two over twelve but never caught that teenager I lusted after.    

Hmm...

 

We don't get your numbers, but me and several friends have caught 10s.  Mine have been on Megabass 110.

That's in AR, home of the World Record.

 

[Dwight Hottle]

Kent what don't you get, maybe I can explain it better. 

[RoLo]

18 hours ago, Lucky Craft Man said:

Thanks Roger!  You may need to post those categories for all the main species of Freshwater Fish for reference (I would be especially interested in your Smallmouth and Musky Class Levels). 

 

I'm not aware of any single source, so I had to bite the bullet and do my own number-crunching.

We humans like nice round numbers like “10”, which are little more than crude guideposts.

For example, 10 lbs is deemed a trophy largemouth bass, but statistically speaking,

a 9 lb largemouth bass is a trophy, while a 12-lb bigmouth is record-class. It's absurd, but

the number “10” is also used for walleyes and even for smallmouth bass (c/o Billy Westmoreland).

 

I gathered as much data as I could from tournaments, clubs, contests and the like.

The same few waterbodies dominate record-class walleyes, namely: Columbia River, WA -

Bay of Quinte, ON – Lake Erie, OH - Tobin Lake SK – Lake Winnipeg, MB

(Honorable mentions: Cedar Lake, MB – Lake of the Woods, ON – Lake of the Prairies, MB)

 

Numeric logjams soon appear, such as 14 pounds which is a formidable weight ceiling, followed

by another weight plateau at 18 lbs, which realistically represents a world-class walleye.

 

Roger

[Tennessee Boy]

17 hours ago, RoLo said:

 

    Congratulations, that's a trophy walleye and gorgeous fish.

 

    WEIGHT CLASSES

    ADULT-CLASS:          3½ lb

    TROPHY-CLASS:       9 lb

    RECORD-CLASS:      14 lb   

    WORLD RECORD:     22 lb  11oz   Greers Ferry Lk, AR   3/14/82 

 

Roger

Here in Tennessee we claim the world record and the IGFA agrees with us.

 

25 lb 0 oz - Old Hickory Lake, TN  8/2/1960

[RoLo]

Yes, I'm familiar with that ongoing controversy, you make an excellent point.

Based on photometric analysis, most if not all recordation agencies struck down

Mabry Harpers world record, with the exception of IGFA. To your point, IGFA is arguably

the most renown record-keeping organization.

 

Doesn't this remind us of the world-record smallmouth bass?

The IGFA struck it down, then later the IGFA reinstated the Hayes world record.

In any case, it's 'their' enigma not ours.

 

Roger

[TnRiver46]

On 5/26/2020 at 2:06 AM, RoLo said:

 

    Congratulations, that's a trophy walleye and gorgeous fish.

 

    WEIGHT CLASSES

    ADULT-CLASS:          3½ lb

    TROPHY-CLASS:       9 lb

    RECORD-CLASS:      14 lb   

    WORLD RECORD:     22 lb  11oz   Greers Ferry Lk, AR   3/14/82 

 

Roger

Methinks the world record is 25 even from old hickory lake near Nashville 

 

edit: saw @Tennessee Boy post after I did 

[Ogandrews]

There are so many igfa records that are either obviously frauds or very questionable that I honestly don’t pay much attention to their lists. In my opinion the real biggest walleye is the Ontario record from the Niagara River at 22.25lbs. It was 36.5” which for a fish out of the Great Lakes is actually believable unlike the apparent 41” fish from Tennessee. If there is going to be a real walleye record it’s going to come from either the Great Lakes or another large lake in the north with very little pressure and allows anglers to fish for them prespawn. 

[TnRiver46]

20 minutes ago, Ogandrews said:

There are so many igfa records that are either obviously frauds or very questionable that I honestly don’t pay much attention to their lists. In my opinion the real biggest walleye is the Ontario record from the Niagara River at 22.25lbs. It was 36.5” which for a fish out of the Great Lakes is actually believable unlike the apparent 41” fish from Tennessee. If there is going to be a real walleye record it’s going to come from either the Great Lakes or another large lake in the north with very little pressure and allows anglers to fish for them prespawn. 

What about the 22 lb 11 oz from Arkansas? Is that also fake? I have a hard time calling things a lie when I wasn’t there 

[Ogandrews]

7 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

What about the 22 lb 11 oz from Arkansas? Is that also fake? I have a hard time calling things a lie when I wasn’t there 

No way for me to say for sure that it is a lie, I just think that it makes more sense for a fish of that size to come out of the Great Lakes. It doesn’t mean that that fish was fake, but if you look at where trophy fish consistently come from i think the Ontario one is more believable.

[TnRiver46]

https://www.freshwater-fishing.org/the-facts-supporting-the-harper-walleye-reinstatement/