Feb. 20, 2023 Harvest Update

Today, 26 fish were harvested on Lake Winnebago (3 juvenile females, 13 adult females, 10 males). The season on the Upriver Lakes is closed.

View the full details in today’s harvest report.

There was one 100-pound fish harvested today. The largest fish harvested was an M2 male that weighed 130.8 pounds and measured 79.5 inches long from the Stockbridge registration shack. This fish was speared by Kenneth Rach.

If you’ve visited a registration station, you may have seen big sturgeon with flat, or even bowl-shaped bellies. Sturgeon with this appearance are often females that have spawned the previous spring. This reproductive stage is called F6. Before spawning, a female’s belly becomes stretched out to accommodate all the eggs inside her. After a spawn, most of her eggs have been released and she is often left with a concave, empty belly. At the registration station, DNR staff look for signs of this spawning activity while they are identifying a sturgeon’s sex. If they see any eggs that look like salt and pepper (unsuccessfully laid eggs), then they know they have an F6 female. To learn more, visit our sturgeon registration stations and ask our friendly DNR staff about F6 females.

Moving forward, the Neenah registration station will remain closed for the rest of the season. If you planned on registering your fish there, please head to the next closest registration station. We will continue to post updates on what stations are open or closed. Locations are listed in the sturgeon season regulation packet or on the DNR sturgeon spearing webpage.

Congratulations to all successful spearers. Good luck to those spearing tomorrow and stay safe.

Spearing Over The Decades: 1953

The Lake Sturgeon spearing season has been a tradition for many decades.  Throughout those decades, many of the regulations, rules and season lengths have changed, but the techniques, traditions and spirit endure.  Let’s take a look back at 1953.

In 1953, Lake Winnebago’s season lasted from Feb. 1 to March 1. There was also a five-fish bag limit during the spearing season with a 30-inch minimum size limit. The elimination of the set line season on the Upriver Lakes in 1952 allowed for a second year of an experimental spearing season Upriver in 1953. While there continued to be a 30-inch minimum size limit for both Winnebago and Upriver, spearers were only allowed three fish Upriver compared to Lake Winnebago’s five-fish bag limit.

1953 saw one of the last crystal-clear water years until the 1980s. Because of this, a record breaking 2,828 fish were speared during both the 29-day Winnebago season and 14-day Upriver season. This was significantly higher than the average 1,225 Lake Sturgeon speared throughout the rest of the 1950s. Additionally, a record 180-pound Lake Sturgeon was speared on Lake Winnebago by Elroy Schroeder from Appleton. It is still one of the top five heaviest fish speared on Lake Winnebago.

The record number of sturgeon speared in 1953 caused concerns about over harvest and the future of the Lake Sturgeon population in the Winnebago system. These concerns launched the decades-long plan to assess, research and better manage the Lake Sturgeon population.

Biologists undertook a plan to annually assess the population and set new regulations on the spearing season throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s to ensure species survival and curb any overharvest. These new regulations included season closures, a reduction in bag limits, an increase in minimum size limit, the hook and line season closure, and even the institution of the mandatory registration of all speared Lake Sturgeon.

Many of these management tools are still used today to continue to closely manage the species, allowing future generations the ability to participate in the long-held winter tradition.

Season Photos Needed

The DNR is looking for spearers to submit photos that help tell a story through a photo submission form. Photos could be of spearers with their catch, cutting in, shanty life, scenic views observed during the season or anything else that captures the spearing tradition.

Please make sure the photos are age appropriate. Select photos will be used for future DNR outreach efforts.