Winnebago System sturgeon spearing 2020
Diana Sanders registered the biggest fish of the day on 2/12/2020. She registered her 111.5 pound, 72.8 inch fish at Critter's!
February 13, 2020. - There were 27 lake sturgeon harvested on day 6 of the 2020 sturgeon spear fishery on the Winnebago System. Today's harvest of 17 fish from Lake Winnebago brings the season total to 143 fish, while the 10 fish taken from the Upriver Lakes brings the season total to 187. Registration numbers have been picking up at Waverly Beach in recent days. In fact, almost half of the fish harvested from Lake Winnebago today were registered at our Waverly Beach registration station.
The largest fish in today's harvest was 119.5 pounds, 73.0 inches and registered at Wendt's by Ronald Goldaspske. The largest fish from the Upriver Lakes was 105.8 pounds, 69.6 inches and registered at Critter's by Tonya Winkelman.
There's some very cold weather coming and I'll be curious to see how the weather will impact spearer effort and harvest numbers heading into the weekend. Good luck to all of the spearers who will be braving the cold! - Ryan Koenigs, fisheries biologist, Oshkosh
Lake Winnebago system sturgeon spearing regulations 2020
Winnebago System sturgeon spearing regulations and information pamphlet 2020 [PDF]
Daily harvest - February 13, 2020
Daily sturgeon tally sheet [PDF]
2020 Lake Winnebago - as of February 13, 2020
| Daily harvest | Season harvest | Harvest cap | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Juvenile females | 1 | 11 | 344 |
| Adult females | 10 | 75 | 855 |
| Males | 6 | 57 | 960 |
| Totals | 17 | 143 | - |
2020 Upriver Lakes - as of February 13, 2020
| Daily harvest | Season harvest | Harvest cap | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Juvenile females | 1 |
27 |
86 |
| Adult females | 3 |
50 |
95 |
| Males | 6 | 110 | 240 |
| Totals |
10 |
187 | - |
Tagging your sturgeon
2020 Winnebago system sturgeon vignettes
History of the Upriver Lakes sturgeon spear fishery and trends in the modern era
More information about the history of the Upriver Lakes spear fishery can be viewed in the document History of the Upriver Lakes Sturgeon Spear Fishery and Trends in the Modern Era. [PDF]
Sturgeon spearing culture
The ice-fishing season for lake sturgeon is more about getting together and fishing together than harvesting a lunker.
- Sturgeon spearing season: the good ol' days are right now - Badger Sportsman, Jan/Feb 2015
- A Small Window for a Big Opportunity - Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine, February 2011
Sturgeon guard
There are two critical time periods for collecting data from our sturgeon population, the annual spearing season and spring spawning assessments. Each year thousands of lake sturgeon migrate up the tributaries of the Winnebago System (Wolf, upper Fox, Embarrass and Little Wolf Rivers most notably) to spawn. The sturgeon spawn along rocky shorelines on outside river bends and literally spawn at your feet. This provides a great opportunity to view sturgeon spawning in the wild, which is an experience not available anywhere else in North America. However, poaching has historically been a concern given the vulnerability of these majestic fish during spawning. The Sturgeon Guard program was implemented to curtail the illegal activity and protect these fish during spawning periods. At first, law enforcement officers would monitor known spawning sites, but it was difficult for the warden staff to cover all of the known spawning areas with a limited work force. The Sturgeon Guard program then went public and the rest is history. The general public can now sign up for 12-hour shifts to watch sturgeon spawn and protect the fish from harassment and other illegal activity. There are hundreds of folks who sign up every year for this opportunity, and this really is an example of a successful collaboration between the community and the DNR that has helped the population significantly increase! As the spearing season draws near the end, I thought it would be beneficial to highlight a potential next opportunity for folks interested in sturgeon and that opportunity is volunteering through the Sturgeon Guard program.
Contact Information
For Winnebago System sturgeon information or local conditions and season updates during the sturgeon season, contact Ryan Koenigs, fisheries biologist, Oshkosh