Sturgeon Spears and Big Green Trout
New Wisconsin Sturgeon Biologist Ryan Koenigs is the first to admit he has big shoes to fill in stepping into the job previously handled so well by Ron Bruch, and before him, Dan Folz. But the week prior to the sturgeon spearing season beginning this Saturday, February 9 on the Winnebago system, Koenigs is setting his own standard high.
Showcasing “Sturgeon Week”, Koenigs and crew are spotlighting some of the most interesting facts, figures, stories and expectations that spearers and observers alike will want to tap into. We’ve posted each day’s highlights under “Outdoor News”, “Ice Fishing” and “Inland Fishing”.
On Day 1, our experts look back on sturgeon history. On Day 2, prospects of a record fish are examined. The current record is the 212 pound monster speared in 2010, but biologists captured a 240 pound, 87.5 inch adult spawning female below the Shawano dam in April of 2012. On Day 3, the DNR looks into the question of why the lake sturgeon outlasted the dinosaurs. On Day 4, current ice conditions and “cutting in” are discussed. And on Day 5, family traditions in spearing are the topic. Everything is posted right now and waiting for you.
I’ll be on the Winnebago ice with my first tag in five years or so as a guest of friend Scott Heitman. Usually I am just a reporter on the scene working the camera, but I’m going to jump back in this game and jump too at the chance to spear with Scott’s dad and friends who do their homework on the ice and often have scored over the decades even when conditions aren’t the best. I know it’s tough regardless of expertise but it’s nice to have the right people in your corner. Probably over 10 years, and averaging a day in the shanty per season…I’ve never seen a sturgeon. I’ve seen one surgeon…swam by the hole looking a little like Hawkeye Pierce with flippers. Just wait what you see when you stare in a hole without a break for hours.
Randy Rothenbueler finds the less bait movement, the better for lake trout.
Speaking of “Inland Fishing”, another buddy, Randy Rothenbueler of New Berlin, had some good action with a few other guys while targeting lake trout on Big Green with top-notch guide Dennis Walker Tuesday. Rothenbueler and Gary Burnham planned to fish on their own but found a local bait shop still closed before 9:00 so turned to Walker, who they have used in the past on the ice and open water. They’d have all the bait and equipment they wanted, a warm shack and most likely a lead on the hot spots. That’s what they got.
Gary Burnham and Randy Rothenbueler score on Big Green
Using tip-ups and jigging rods and spoons with minnows and cutbait, the boys worked 130 feet of water. Walker told them to let the cutbait lie on the bottom with little or no movement and said the trout would pick it up. In another Walker shack nearby, Elliot Cee and Mike Racer were also targeting the deep water trout.
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Rothenbueler and Burnham triggered about 15 light hits in six hours, most of which dropped the bait and were able to land lake trout at 26-inches, 23 inches, 22 inches and 18 inches. Jigging mostly with ciscoe cutbait, Cee and Racer found similar action and put some good fish on the ice.
“Three-quarters of the hits came on slow-moving cutbait,” Rothenbueler said. “Weather conditions were overcast with some snow. Walker surprised me by telling us to let the bait sit on the bottom because I always thought it was important to keep the bait moving but he was right. I also found the skeleton of what might have been a 10-inch ciscoe in the belly of one of these trout.”
Connect with Dennis Walker’s Guide Service at 920-294-0611, or 920-572-0622 (mobile on lake) or greenlakefishing@yahoo.com or www.greenlakefishing.com.
This week, we have guide reports and photos as usual under “Inland Fishing” along with columnist John Luthens and lots of material of varying topics under “Outdoor News”. Find Robb Manning’s regular Concealed Carry column under “Firearms” and we’re introducing Robb’s Military Specifications column under “Firearms” too .You may want to connect with “Deer Hunting” to read updates on the deer mortality study and all about the recent discovery of a deer with CWD in Waukesha County.
Thanks for connecting with On Wisconsin Outdoors. Shoot Straight.
Dick Ellis