Walleye will spawn on rocky substrate when in a pinch. Our Nebraska reservoirs prove that every year when walleye move up to the dams to spawn in the spring and pull off major spawns. The wave action against the rocks keeps the water oxygenated enough and stirred up enough to keep the walleye eggs viable. Is that ideal spawning habitat? No. However, it is good enough, along with some stocking of fry, to sustain fishable populations in our state's reservoirs. In a lake such as Lake Hastings, you will need to continue stocking walleye to maintain fishable populations over time especially if there are large mouth bass and other predators in the lake. The fusiform shape of walleye make them easy to slurp up as prey when they are younger. They will do much better in large reservoirs than they will do in small ponds and lakes where predators more suited to those habitats are already established.
