Snorkeling with Spawning Walleye and Suckers

[00:00:00]It is a beautiful spring day in Vermont.

[00:00:03]So, I got Reese with me and he's got two new knees. Uh he had to have double knee surgery last year, so he's back in action, walking better than ever, which is super excited. And then we also got Remy. Uh but this is the first filming we're doing in 2026. Just a great time to be outside, especially in Vermont, the springtime. Everything start moving.

[00:00:23]Everything's starting to wake up from the long winter. Uh so hopefully we're going to suit up. We're going to do a little snorkeling with some suckers and maybe some walleye. Uh we're going to travel a little bit upstream and see what we could see. But gorgeous day to do it. Uh super excited to get back out snorkeling after that long winter. So, let's do it. Let's see what we could see.

[00:00:45]Spring is a season of new beginnings.

[00:00:46]So, we hiked upstream to witness one of nature's most incredible new beginnings beneath the water's surface.

[00:01:00]When the ice melts from the long winter and water temperatures reach above 40° F or 5° C, walleye migrates to tributaries to spawn and reproduce.

[00:01:18]Fish can only travel so far in this tributary because they're eventually blocked by a dam. So, I started snorkeling in the downstream pools.

[00:01:26]Walleye, the warm water state fish of Vermont, are searching for suitable spawning habitat that consists of shallow water with clean and hard bottoms mixed with gravel.

[00:01:36]So, this group of four walleye found some quality substrate to kickstart the next generation.

[00:01:54]Walleye are broadcast spawners. Instead of building nests, the male and females release their milk and eggs directly into the water where fertilization happens externally before the eggs settle in the spaces between the rocks.

[00:02:09]I stayed with these fish for over 30 minutes and enjoyed seeing them so close.

[00:02:14]Walley generally live in deeper areas, so to see them so shallow was quite the treat.

[00:02:25]I love their white tip on their lower lobe with a tail fin. A simple detail that makes them easy to identify.

[00:02:48]As I continued upstream, the number of fish only increased.

[00:03:10]near the base of the dam. Walleye were stacked throughout the current and mixed in among them were white suckers.

[00:03:20]White suckers begin their spawn shortly after walleye when the water temperature reaches around 50° F or 10° C.

[00:03:34]We arrived during the transition between the two spawning runs, catching the end of the walleye spawn and the beginning of the white sucker run.

[00:04:06]Like walleye, white suckers are broadcast spawners. They release their eggs and milk into the current and the fertilized eggs settle into the crevices between the rocks where they're protected as they develop. I saw quite a few eggs in the rocks and wonder if they were walleye or suckers. Maybe they're a mixture of both.

[00:04:27]Falling closely behind the walleye and suckers were brook trout.

[00:04:31]My best guess is they were here for two reasons. First to take advantage of the cool oxygen-rich water flowing below the dam and second to feed on the steady supply of eggs drifting downstream.

[00:05:16]Accompanying the brook trout were juvenile yellow perch. I think these fish were also there to eat the walleye and sucker eggs. This is a good strategy for the brook trout and yellow perch because the fish eggs contain a dense concentration of nutrients for growth.

[00:05:44]This is my first time snorkeling with walleye and it was a memory that would last a lifetime. I'm still so surprised how many fish pile into this small river to spawn. It goes to show you that protecting and conserving the spawning habitats is so important for the life cycle of these fish. Without healthy rivers like this one, these remarkable migrations and the next generation of fish wouldn't be possible.

[00:06:06]Thank you so much everyone for watching and I will see you next time underneath the water.