Stocking of intensively reared walleye greater than 7-inches has been proven to greatly benefit walleye populations in Lake Rathbun. As a result, hatcheries will face increased demand for large-sized walleye fingerlings. What they say is true, "If you make it, they will come." They in this case is the fishery manager who requests the large walleye for stocking. Pond reared walleye fingerlings (1.3-1.8 inches) are received from the Fairport and Mt. Ayr hatcheries, stocked into indoor raceways and trained to accept dry diets. The thing to remember, though, is these fish have been eating live moving plankton up to this point. They then have to be convinced to accept a lifeless pellet of food. Mortalities typically peak within a two week period when those fish that never figured out the new feeding procedure finally are too emaciated to cope. With the development of better diets successful training of walleye has greatly improved. Success; however, has varied from year to year and from tank to tank. A research project is currently underway to investigate factors which may influence the "trainability" of these fish. Identification of such factors will enable hatchery managers to better meet current and future production quotas.