Upriver Lakes sturgeon spearing season application deadline August 1
OSHKOSH – Sturgeon spearers have until Aug. 1 to apply for a 2013 Upriver Lakes sturgeon spearing lottery tag. Participation in the Upriver Lakes sturgeon spearing season on Lakes Butte des Morts, Winneconne and Poygan, is controlled through a lottery. Those people selected in the lottery will be notified by Oct. 1 that they are authorized to buy a license to participate in the Upriver season and must buy that tag by Oct. 31, 2012.
Applications can be made through the Online Licensing Center on the DNR website, at all authorized license agents, at DNR Service Centers (Hours for service centers vary; check the DNR website for service center days and hours of operation; DNR Service Centers are not open on Saturdays), or by calling toll-free 1-877-LICENSE (1-877-945-4236).
Spearers who apply for but are not authorized to purchase an Upriver Lakes license receive a preference point toward the following lottery, and they can still purchase a license to participate in the Lake Winnebago spearing season that runs at the same time.
For the 2012 Upriver Lakes season 4,597 people applied for a tag in the lottery for the 500 available licenses, of which a record 498 were sold.
Spearers harvested 242 sturgeon during the 2012 Upriver Lakes season, which closed at the end of its second day after the number of female sturgeon speared exceeded the trigger to close the season. The 2012 Lake Winnebago season ran the full 16-days allowed by law, with a low harvest of 324 sturgeon due to poor ice conditions on Lake Winnebago.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Karl Scheidegger – 608-267-9426