Whatever’s involved in the biological mechanics of making more fish, Lake Erie’s walleye appear to have the hang of it.

The preliminary results for the 2025 hatch have been assigned a ranking of Exceptional, the highest on the Ohio Division of Wildlife’s scale. An Exceptional designation translates into a high probability that this year’s bonanza of young will enter the fishery in 2027 in huge numbers of 20 million or more.

Generally, walleye reach the legal keeper length of 15 inches at some point during their third summer, which would arrive during the 2027 season.

Exceptional hatches have occurred during five of the past eight years, including 2025, 2023, 2021, 2019 and 2018. Three of the walleye hatches during the past decade ranked as the highest on record.

The hatches in 2020 and

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