Historically, angler surveys conducted by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission have shown the walleye to be the third-most popular sport fish in the state, following bass and trout.

While some might point to the fish's quality as table fare as being the reason, I'd prefer to credit the walleye's reputation as the thinking man's fish. An angler has to be versatile to catch walleyes consistently.

Depending on the situation, the state's walleyes are managed by natural reproduction, as well as the stocking of fry and fingerlings. Where conditions allow for self-sustaining populations, most commonly in rivers and riverine impoundments, no fish are stocked.

Instead, stocking takes place in waters where conditions don't permit the survival of naturally produced walleyes. Generally, fry-stage walleyes are only a week or two old when stocked. Fingerling-stage walleyes typically are 2 to 3 months old. While fingerlings have a much higher survival rate, they are stocked in far fewer numbers.

For the past three years, the commission has discontinued walleye stockings on the Allegheny, Juniata and Susquehanna rivers. Fall surveys aimed at evaluating young-of-year production from the preceding spring will help determine how well these waters are replenishing walleye numbers on their own.

Also, following several years of poor returns from spring fry stockings on Pymatuning Lake, the commission, along with the Ohio Division of Wildlife, began stocking fingerling-stage walleyes in the spring of 2008.

Thanks to excellent hatchery production, between the two agencies fingerlings have been stocked at a rate of 40 per acre, which is double the standard rate for state lakes.

Fall surveys later in 2008 showed a strong year class. Fingerlings were stocked again in 2009, with even better results revealed in last year's fall survey.

It's hoped that Pymatuning soon will be the walleye factory it was throughout much of the 1980s and early '90s.

Here's a look at a three important walleye fisheries in Western Pennsylvania:

Middle Allegheny River

The section from the Kinzua tailrace downriver to the start of the navigable river near East Brady has a strong history of supplying consistent walleye fishing. Anglers can expect more of the same this spring.

Al Woomer, area fisheries manager, fall sampling has shown fairly consistent year classes, even during the past two years when walleye fry haven't been stocked. Survey sites include Oil City, President and Tidioute.

Woomer said that while there was some concern at Tidioute and President, due to an absence of young-of-year in 2008, the sites showed good numbers last year. He also said good numbers of adult walleyes were collected during survey efforts of the past year.

Fish produced in the strong year class of 2007 will be entering the fishery this year and next.

Lower Allegheny River

This stretch takes in the last 70 miles of the river from East Brady to Pittsburgh and is impounded by eight lock-and-dam systems.

The tailrace areas of each dam tend to collect walleyes, particularly from late fall through late spring of the following year.

Woomer said recent young-of-year surveys conducted near Templeton and East Brady, which are in the two uppermost navigation pools, have shown consistent natural walleye reproduction.

Though recent surveys haven't been done on the lower six pool, good fishing the past few years indicates more can be expected this year.

Pymatuning Lake

Though it will be another year or two before the most recent year classes attain the legal 15-inch length, there are still enough walleyes in the more than 14,000 acres the lake.

Previous years' stocking efforts of fry weren't completely unsuccessful, just lower than that needed to provide the dense walleye fishing anglers had been accustomed to.

Anglers willing to work for a few bites per day often are rewarded with multiple fish longer than 20 inches. And since angler pressure has waned in recent years, there is plenty of room to do so.

Pymatuning has no closed season, so anglers have access to shallow, spawning fish. Early season efforts should be focused along rocky points and shoals that see such activity. Some of the more productive fishing takes place at night. Later in the spring. walleyes will scatter into main lake basins.

The horsepower limit recently was raised to 20 hp on this Pennsylvania-Ohio border water. Good launches on the Pennsylvania side of the lake are found at Linesville, Espyville, Snodgrass and Jamestown.

Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle.