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| They do exist. In his right hand the author holds a normal colored “yellow walleye” and in his left hand the famed “blue walleye” of Northwind Lake. The color difference is just a color phase, but it’s not something you see every day! |
To be honest,
I’ve caught my share of walleye. When Chad Thompson of Pasha Lake Cabins near
Beardmore, Ontario asked me if I had ever caught a blue walleye, I looked at
him like he was on drugs. “No really, some of our lakes have a blue color phase
of walleye,” explained Thompson as I listened with great interest. “For reasons
no one seems to completely understand some of the lakes in Northwestern Ontario
produce walleye that are a deep rich blue in color.”
Inspired by
Thompson’s description of the “blue walleye” this is something for sure I had
to see with my own eyes. The very next day we planned a trip to Northwind Lake,
located just a few miles north of our base at Pasha Lake Cabins. The launch at
Northwind is pretty sketchy, but we managed to get a 16 foot Starcraft in the
water.
The first few
walleye we caught were the traditional golden yellow color walleye living in
tannic acid stained waters are supposed to be. Not that I was doubting the
presence of “blue walleye”, but until you see one of these fish first hand it
does seem a little like tales of Big Foot.
Then it
happened... I set the hook and worked a nice walleye close to the boat. When
the landing net hit the floor of the boat, there flopping in front of my amazed
eyes was the famed “blue walleye” as promised. To clarify, the blue walleye in
Ontario are only a unique color phase of the Stizostedion vitreum or common
walleye.
The famed and
extinct blue walleye or blue pike of Lake Erie were believed to be a completely
unique species, not just a color phase. These fish disappeared about the same
time as the passenger pigeon.
As the day
progressed we caught several more “blue walleye” proving that my catch wasn’t a
fluke. In fact, the ratio of blue to yellow walleye caught in Northwind Lake is
nearly the same.
It’s also
interesting to note that once they are filleted blue and yellow walleye taste
exactly the same. However, Chad tells me that when you catch these fish in the
winter and toss them on a fresh bed of snow, the snow turns blue!
I haven’t
witnessed the snow turning blue as of yet, but that is on my bucket list thanks
to Chad Thompson and Pasha Lake Cabins.
IF YOU GO:
If you decide to
target the blue walleye of Northwind Lake, get ahold of Chad Thompson at www.pashalake.com for lodging and
fishing details. Chad guides and puts his clients on the famed blue walleye
routinely. Be sure to take along a camera, because no one is going to believe
the story without photographic proof!
