Sturgeon spawning report - April 28, 2014
Dear Winnebago System Sturgeon Enthusiasts:
Water temperatures continued to crash today (down to 42 degrees in Shawano and 44.5 degrees at Bamboo Bend in Shiocton), but fish continued to spawn on the Wolf River. Our crew started the day at Bamboo Bend this morning and then returned in the afternoon to finish up our tagging day. In total, we handled 75 fish at this site with the largest being a 68.4” ripe female. In between work at Bamboo Bend we also tagged 8 fish at Memorial Park in New London and 10 fish behind the bait shop on County X in New London. Both of these sites contained limited spawning activity, but fish none the less. Besides these locations, fish were reported as spawning at the Sturgeon Trail on County X in New London, the Manawa Dam, and a site on private property in Shiocton.
The weather has really forced the water temperatures to drop and it is becoming even more difficult to predict what sturgeon are going to do. With that said, I think that there will still be more spawning activity at Bamboo Bendtomorrow.
Ryan P. Koenigs
Senior Fisheries Biologist / Winnebago Sturgeon Biologist
Oshkosh Fisheries Team
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
(() phone: (920)303-5450
(() fax: (920)424-4404
(+) e-mail: Ryan.koenigs@wisconsin.gov