Daily Update: 2020 Winnebago System Sturgeon Spearing Season

Daily Recap and Highlights

There were 30 lake sturgeon harvested from the Winnebago System today with 23 fish coming from Lake Winnebago and 7 from the Upriver Lakes. Stockbridge Harbor led the way with 7 fish registered followed by Jim and Linda’s with 6 and Payne’s Point and Wendt’s each with 5 fish registered. For the Upriver Lakes there were 5 fish registered at Critter’s and 2 fish at Indian Point. An in-depth breakdown of today’s harvest is available through the following link:

Day 10 Harvest Report.pdf

The largest fish registered on Lake Winnebago today was 93.1 pounds, 70.8 inches and registered at Wendt’s by Lucas Muche. The largest fish from the Upriver Lakes was 53.3 pounds, 61.0 inches and registered at Critter’s by Alice Suttner.

Mark Zastrow (left) and Lucas Muche (right) with their lake sturgeon that they registered at Wendt’s on February 17, 2020. Lucas’s fish was 93.1 pounds, 70.8 inches and Mark’s fish was 70.9 pounds!

Today’s Vignette: “2019 Chironomid (Lake Fly) Assessment Report”

Sturgeon spearing requires a lot of patience, and usually a bit of luck mixed in. Every year I share stories of spearers who have tried for decades without spearing a fish. Conversely, there are spearers that defy the odds and get a fish more often than not. A lot of what makes these spearers successful is the time they spend out on the ice, both before and during the season. Scouting plays a big role when it comes to increasing the odds of getting a sturgeon. One of the most common scouting methods is to go “worming.”  This practice involves using a can or some other device to collect lake sediment.  The sediments are then spread out on the ice or run through a sieve to see how many Chironomid lake fly larvae (redworms) are present in the sample.  Chironomid larvae are an important food source for lake sturgeon, particularly in non-shad seasons like this one. Our DNR fisheries crew conducts an annual assessment of the Chironomid population on both Lake Winnebago and the Upriver Lakes. Our assessment is similar to that of spearers, but on a much larger scale. More information about the sampling methods and results from the 2019 assessment is presented in the 2019 Chironomid (Lake Fly) Relative Abundance Assessment Report (link below):

2019 Chironomid Density Summary Report.pdf    

Ryan Koenigs
Senior Fisheries Biologist / Winnebago System Sturgeon Biologist
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
625 E County Rd. Y, Suite 700
Oshkosh, WI 54901
Phone: (920)303-5450
Fax: (920)424-4404
Ryan.koenigs@wisconsin.gov