Day 3 Harvest Report - February 11, 2019
Today marked the 3rd day of the 2019 sturgeon spearing season on the Winnebago System, a day where 42 fish were registered. Things have really slowed down on the Upriver Lakes as only 19 fish were registered today bringing the season total to 201. Of the 19 fish harvested today, 6 were adult females. We are currently 25 adult females away from the 90% trigger on the Upriver Lakes and 34 adult females away from the harvest cap. Given the weather forecast tomorrow into Wednesday and the relatively low harvest numbers today, we are anticipating an extended season on the Upriver Lakes that likely will go into the weekend. There were 23 sturgeon harvested from Lake Winnebago today. A more detailed breakdown of today’s harvest can be accessed through the following link:
There were 4 fish harvested today that were 100 pounds or larger, 2 of which were harvested from the Upriver Lakes and 2 from Lake Winnebago. The largest fish of the day was 126.2 pounds (79.2”) and registered at Stockbridge Harbor my Matt Leitner of Chilton. A photo of Matt with his fish can be accessed through the following link:
Matt Leitner_126.2 lb._79.2 in._Stockbridge_2-11-2019.JPG
The forecasted weather has caused many sturgeon spearers to pull their shanties from the Winnebago Pool Lakes today. We are anticipating a substantial reduction in effort for tomorrow and possibly into Wednesday. Due to the weather and slow registration numbers, we have closed our Quinney registration station until further notice. The station will reopen again this season but will be closed on Tuesday and possibly Wednesday. Successful spearers that were planning to register their fish at Quinney should plan to register their fish at Stockbridge or Pipe (Jim and Linda’s).
Sturgeon Vignette: The 1959 Sturgeon Spearing Season!
The 1959 Sturgeon Spearing season was a unique season in that there were open fisheries on Lake Winnebago, the Upriver Lakes and Little Lake Butte des Morts. Ice conditions were great (22-35”), but heavy snowfalls and drifting snow made transportation very challenging. There were 221 fish harvested from Lake Winnebago that season and another 297 from the Upriver Lakes. I have included a few documents about the season that can be accessed through the following links:
1959 Winnebago System Spearing Season Summary Report.pdf
Pre_Spearing_News_Release_1959.pdf
Post_Spearing_News_Release_1959.pdf
I hope you enjoy reading up on a little bit of history and good luck during the remainder of the season!
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Ryan Koenigs
Senior Fisheries Biologist / Winnebago System Sturgeon Biologist
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
625 E County Rd. Y, Suite 700
Oshkosh, WI 54901
Phone: (920)303-5450
Fax: (920)424-4404