It is rather difficult to provide this information with a large degree of certainty, because individual fish can grow at very different rates. The sex of a fish, stage of sexual maturity and various genetic factors all influence growth in a population. Between lakes, climatic conditions and lake productivity can be major influences. Generally, walleye in Lake of the Woods reach 12 inches long when they are three years old. Male walleye longer than 24 inches are extremely rare.
Female walleye grow faster than male walleye, after they are three years old.
Generally, female walleye which are 25 inches long are about 10 years old, and 30 inch females are in the range of 20 years old. The oldest Lake of the Woods walleye we have aged was a 23 year old female which was 30.3 inches long. During the various surveys that were conducted throughout the summer, it appeared that there were very few walleye, sauger or yellow perch produced in 2000. The most likely cause of poor walleye, sauger and perch production this past summer is the weather. These three species tend to do best when the water warms at a constant rate.