Daily Sturgeon Season Update - Feb. 27, 2022
Today was the final day of the 2022 sturgeon spearing season. The last day’s harvest on Lake Winnebago was similar to day 15 as 83 fish (11 juvenile females, 38 adult females, 34 males) were harvested.
In total, 1,518 fish were harvested on the Winnebago System, consisting of 203 juvenile females, 627 adult females, and 688 males. Of the 1,518 fish harvested, the Lake Winnebago harvest consisted of 1,169 fish (158 juvenile females, 539 adult females, and 472 males), while the Upriver Lakes harvest was 349 (45 juvenile females, 88 adult females, and 216 males).
After the full 16-day season, the Lake Winnebago and Winnebago System-wide caps remained far from being reached. This year’s Lake Winnebago harvest was lower than the 2021 season but still ranks relatively high among recent years (second-highest harvest since 2015).
The 10.7-foot average water clarity contributed to the season's success. The season averages for water clarity from 2015 to 2022 ranged from 6 to 9 feet resulting in drastically lower harvests. Although water clarity was not great this season and harvest caps were not met on Lake Winnebago, the Lake Winnebago success rate was close to average at 9.5%.
The Upriver Lakes season saw a high success rate, and the adult female harvest cap triggered on day three, resulting in a four-day season. The four-day season was the shortest Upriver Lakes season since the 2018 harvest. Despite the season's length, this was the second most fish harvested on the Upriver Lakes since the lottery system was implemented in 2007.
A total of 88 fish on the Winnebago System weighed in over 100 pounds making up 5.7% of the total harvest. This year, the percentage of fish over 100 pounds is the largest since 2018 (6.6%) and aligns more closely with percentages of the early 2010s when many of the record-breaking fish were harvested.
Today, the busiest registration station was Calumet Harbor, with 20 fish coming in. Stockbridge Harbor led all registration stations this year, registering 348 fish, followed by Calumet Harbor with 230 fish and Grundman Lane with 221.
View the full details in today’s harvest report here.
Justin Lammers speared the largest fish today, a 112.6 pounds, 76.9 inches, F1 female registered at the Blackwolf registration station.
Congratulations to all of the successful spearers that harvested a lake sturgeon this year! We are already full of anticipation for the opening day of 2023!