Homing Behavior of Spawning Walleyes

Study of marked adult walleyes returning to a spawning site in Many Point Lake, northern Minnesota, showed evidence of homing behavior rather than a strictly random return in successive years. The homing behavior, however, was not shown by the majority of the fish, and among those which evinced homing behavior the pattern of return was irregular. Possible causes of variation in homing in different years and circumstances which could produce an apparent homing effect are discussed.