Sturgeon spawning update 5-2-2013
Dear Winnebago Sturgeon Enthusiasts:
The sturgeon started spawning at the Shawano Dam yesterday and our crews worked hard to handle over 350 fish on Wednesday! The spawn was just getting underway, in fact most of the females that we handled were still hard and not actively laying eggs. If this year holds true to form, these fish will have become much more active overnight and today (Thursday) and tomorrow will be the peak spawning days at the Shawano Dam. Continuing with the trend that we have been observing over the last few years, we handled numerous trophy sturgeon today including many fish over 78”. The attached photo is of 3 fisheries students from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point with the largest fish handled Wednesday (82”: photo by Aaron Funseth). Over the last few years we have leaned pretty heavily on these students to provide physical support to our crews and we would not be able to handle nearly as many fish without their help. So I suggest coming out to the Shawano Dam today if you want to see the sturgeon spawn.
Ryan P. Koenigs
Fisheries Biologist
Upper Fox - Wolf Fisheries Work Unit
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Phone: (920)303-5450
Fax: (920)424-4404
E-mail: Ryan.koenigs@wisconsin.gov