You don’t see that every day…
If you’ve spent any amount of time fishing in the Great Lakes region, or the larger Midwest area, you know that walleye are an absolute staple of the northern fisherman. Living in Wisconsin, I catch them pretty regularly, but it’s actually the hard-water season where I do most of my walleye fishing. It’s just tough to beat a day out on the ice, a few cold beverages, and a limit of walleye in the winter.
Rather elusive, walleye can be quite difficult to catch. They’re very sensitive to conditions, meaning their bite windows and locations change frequently. But if you want to talk freshwater table fare, they are absolutely delicious—probably my favorite along with perch. But recently, one North Dakota angler reeled in a walleye so insanely rare, it doesn’t even look real. In the age of AI these days, you never know, but we have the video proof. Ethan Bear, a 21-year-old fisherman from Jamestown, North Dakota, landed the literal fish of a lifetime last week.
Bear and his buddies were fishing for walleye when he brought in an extremely rare yellow walleye… like, Big Bird yellow. According to the photos, the group looks like they got a handful of other nice walleyes too, but nothing quite like this golden specimen.
Check it out:
After snapping a few quick photos to prove it happened, Bear unhooked the fish and released it safely back into the lake… that lake, of course, will go without being named.
Why is it Yellow?
So, how does a walleye turn completely gold? It’s not a different species of fish. The brilliant yellow color is the result of a super rare genetic pigment mutation called xanthism. Normally, a walleye’s scales convert white light into blue. When mixed with yellow pigments, the fish appears green. In a fish with xanthism, the molecular structure that makes the blue color is completely missing, leaving the fish solid gold or orange. We’ve seen bass with similar patterns at times, but it’s equally as rare. We’ve also seen fish that come out jet black… a different pigment mutation.
Experts estimate that the odds of catching a true golden walleye are roughly 1 in 1 million to 1 in 10 million.
Because these fish are basically swimming neon signs, they stand out like crazy to larger predators. Very few of them survive long enough to reach adulthood, which makes this catch (which looks to be somewhere between 25 and 30 inches) even more mind-blowing.
Walleye are typically most active during low-light periods because their large eyes are highly adapted for gathering light in the dark. They tend to hang out around sand and gravel bottom areas. In North Dakota, fisheries like Lake Sakakawea, Devils Lake, and the Missouri River system are legendary for producing some fantastic walleyes, some living more than 20 years and growing over 30 inches.
Shoutout to Ethan Bear on the catch of a lifetime. Judging by his social media… he knows a thing or two about catching some beauty walleyes.
