When looking for some of the best tasting fish fillets in the supermarket, it’s likely that you’ll pick walleye (when it’s available) or cod. They’re both delicious fish that can be cooked in a number of ways. What’s great about the two is that they can be fished independently, too! If you want to go out and catch your own meal, walleye or cod are a great option, depending on whether or not you want to fish freshwater or saltwater. In this article you will learn about Walleye vs. Cod
Walleye Appearance
Walleye are larger, freshwater dwelling fish that are related to perch. They look similar to perch, visually, too. They have a similar gold coloration that sometimes appears in an olive coloration, as well. Down their back are the traditional black bands that yellow perch have, as well. They have 5 or more of them at any given time. The underside of the walleye is silver or white in appearance.
Physically, however, the walleye can’t look more different than the yellow perch. The walleye has a large mouth filled with many sharp teeth. These teeth can range anywhere from an eighth of an inch long to half an inch long. The walleye have four prominent canine teeth that are longer than the others in their mouth. Additionally, they have two dorsal fins, one that is spiny-rayed and another that is soft-rayed.
The feature that the walleye gets its name from is its eyes. They’re a milky, hazy color. This is because of a reflective layer in the back of the eye that lets them collect more light in low light situations. This makes the walleye almost solely nocturnal.
Walleye normally reach lengths of about 22 to 24 inches in length, and weigh anywhere from 3 to 7 pounds. Most walleye that you’ll catch will be 16 to 18 inches in length and weight 2 to 3 pounds. These are a great size for some good fillets.
Walleye Behavior
Walleye are primarily nocturnal hunters, and the best fishing for them is during the hours from dusk to dawn. They’ll feed at night by cruising the body of water that they live in, following their prey from spot to spot. This means that they’ve got many different feeding habits and behaviors. The thing that makes them frustrating to fish for though is their shy nature. They’re typically very line-shy, and will avoid biting at the first sign of a fisherman. During the day they’ll spend their time at the bottom of whatever body of water they’re in, or in shady areas near some forms of cover. These can be downed trees, reefs, or large boulders.
These fish are most active in the spring and fall months. In spring, however, they will stop feeding for about a week to spawn. Then, afterwards, the fish will feed voraciously. Knowing the walleye’s spawning habits and areas in your local bodies of water will surely lead to successful walleye fishing.
Walleye Range
Walleye are found in large rivers and lakes, and prefer to be in water that has strong circulation or currents. They’ll travel in the spring to less turbulent waters, and spend their time there spawning and feeding.
Walleye can be found in freshwater bodies across the continent of North America. They will not tolerate any saltwater whatsoever, and won’t be found in even brackish water. Their habitats range from bodies of water as far south as Alabama and Georgia, and as far north as the northernmost parts of Canada. They can be found from coast to coast, as well, in the northern part of the continent, being found from the Northwest Territories all the way east into Quebec.
Cod Appearance
The Atlantic cod is a marine bottom-dwelling fish. They can be silver or grey to green, depending on the content of the algae in the water that they’re living in. They have a similar look to the haddock, with three dorsal fins and two anal fins. However, their size and coloration really sets them apart from one another. Cod, as mentioned before, have a range of colors associated with them, and their lateral line is lighter in color than the rest of their body, where haddock’s lateral line is darker.
Cod are massive fish, with the larger examples of the species reaching up to 75 inches in length and weighing 200 pounds. Average examples of these fish are still fairly lengthy, being 48 to 60 inches in length and weighing, on average, 80 to 90 pounds. This is a prime example as to why they are so heavily fished for when it comes to commercial fishing.
Cod Behavior
Cod are a species of fish that can tolerate colder waters, and tend to prefer them. Schools of cod will be led by a leader fish through warmer currents within their range. They are bottom feeders, and can be found in waters that are up to 1,900 feet deep. They will stay in these waters, but will follow the warmer currents into shallow waters when migrating for spawning or feeding reasons.
Cod are bottom feeders, and will feed on anything, making them opportunistic predators. They won’t actively hunt their prey, rather, they’ll move throughout the water until they’ve found it, and will feed on just about anything smaller than themselves, including other cod.
Cod Range
The Atlantic cod is found along the northeastern coast of North America, in the Atlantic, as the name implies. They are found along the coasts of Greenland as well, and in the Bay of Biscayne up into the Arctic Ocean. They enjoy open ocean waters in addition to the coastal waters, too, and have been known to travel into brackish waters upon occasion. Essentially, if you are in the northeastern part of the North American continent, then you’ll have cod in the water at some point in time. Whether or not you can fish for them is another story altogether, though.
Two Popular Fish to Feast On
Both walleye and cod are two popular fish to feast on. They’re both known as being some of the more delicious fish available on the market, when they’re available. Taking that into consideration, it’s important to realize that one species is more sustainable than the other.
Atlantic cod are a species of fish that have been notoriously overfished. Their populations have dwindled to such a point that there are bans and blocks on how often they can be fished, as well as how many can be kept by both commercial fishing operations and individual fishermen. In recent years, their populations have been bouncing back, but they’re still under heavy scrutiny.
Walleye, on the other hand, are less available due to the inability to farm them. Walleye are a fish that don’t do well on fish farms, but recent work and research may be changing that. These fish can be found in supermarkets and at fish markets, but only during specific times in the year. It’s often recommended that you catch your own walleye, as walleye fillets can cost a pretty penny. These fish are fun to catch, but can be frustrating to fish for, since they have such elusive behaviors. That being said, it makes the meal all the more delicious knowing that you caught the fish that’s on your plate.
Overall, the walleye is a more sustainable fish, since overfishing of the species is difficult to do, as it is with many freshwater species.
Read more about Walleye in Pond