Kurt Davidson speared a male lake sturgeon weighing over 110 pounds from the Upriver Lakes.
Feb. 12, 2025 Harvest Update
With a winter weather advisory around the Winnebago system, harvest was low, similar to yesterday. But there are still a dedicated number of spearers who took to the ice today and came up successful. 42 spearers found success on the system with 9 juvenile females, 10 adult females and 23 males.
Lake Winnebago had another slow day, but there were still 3 juvenile females, 7 adult females and 8 males speared on the lake today. As we look forward to the remainder of the season, Lake Winnebago will likely go for the whole season.
Even with the snow conditions, more spearers were successful on the Upriver lakes today. Today, there were 24 lake sturgeon harvested, with 6 juvenile females, 3 adult females and 15 males.
View the full details in today’s harvest report.
Another 2 fish over 100 pounds were speared on the Upriver Lakes today. Matthew Proctor speared a 116.1-pound, 77.1-inch, F4 female, and Kurt Davidson speared a 110.3-pound, 72.6-inch male from the Upriver Lakes. While it is true that female lake sturgeon grow larger than the males, males can still grow to a large size. Even at the size of Matthew and Kurt’s fish, it is nearly impossible to tell a female sturgeon apart from a male sturgeon. It is only during the spawning season that you can tell the difference externally when males and females are expressing their gametes (either releasing eggs or milt).
Please note that due to poor water clarity, the Pipe registration station will still be closed tomorrow. For those registering fish in that area, the Quinney registration station is the next closest station. Please make sure to adjust accordingly. Thank you, and congratulations to all our spearers.
Hwy 156 sturgeon spawning site (after reconstruction).
Spawning Site Revitalized On The Wolf River
Within the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) Navarino Wildlife Area, located along State Hwy 156, lies a parcel of public land with big blue-stem prairie grass, wild oats and alder trees. It is a beautiful place adjacent to the Wolf River that’s enjoyed by anglers, hunters and many just out for a walk. However, its bank was once subject to rapid erosion from the natural progression of the river. To protect it, a shoreline stabilization project was necessary.
In 1998, the DNR teamed up with Shadows on the Wolf, a local conservation group, on a shoreline stabilization project to preserve this popular space. They riprapped 1,000 feet of shoreline with 3-to-4-inch breaker rock and placed large boulders at the bottom of the riprap.
This project aimed to stabilize the shoreline while creating a better habitat for catfish and smallmouth bass. The project stabilized the shoreline, became an attractive fishing spot for anglers and even attracted spawning lake sturgeon for years to come. It was almost the perfect fish habitat project – almost.
While sturgeon continued to spawn regularly at State Hwy 156, their success rate had come into question. The breaker rocks were too small to adequately shelter sturgeon eggs, leaving them vulnerable to egg predators like other fish. What’s more, many of the rocks eventually washed into the deeper areas of the river, reducing the bank slope. This caused a reduction in the water flow that made the habitat attractive to spawning lake sturgeon. Within the last few years, there have been fewer lake sturgeon utilizing the State Hwy 156 area during the spring spawn.
In 2024, the DNR’s sturgeon team partnered with Sturgeon for Tomorrow to address the problem by optimizing the habitat for lake sturgeon by removing the old rocks, adding larger rocks in their place and increasing the bank slope. The addition of larger rocks created large crevices to better protect sturgeon eggs, and the steeper bank slopes increased the water flow rates to levels that are more attractive to spawning lake sturgeon.
In short, this site has many special features that make it an excellent spot for spawning sturgeon. One is that it is directly in front of a large sand flat habitat, which larval sturgeon use after they hatch.
Our hope is that this project will bring more spawning lake sturgeon to the site than ever before while continuing to protect the shoreline of this special place and the recreational opportunities it provides.
Pictured: Hwy 156 fish habitat site (before reconstruction). |
No Ice Is 100% Safe
If using UTVs on the ice, here are a few basic safety tips to remember:
- Remember UTVs are heavy. They are the heaviest recreational vehicle out on the ice, often being close to 3,000 pounds. This is similar to a car or truck.
- Have a plan in case you do go through the ice.
- Roll your window down when traveling on the ice and make sure you can easily open your door – drive slow and turn the radio down so that you can use eyes and ears to watch and hear for potential issues coming up.
- Make sure you have life jackets or some other type of floatation for every occupant of the UTV.
- Recovery for the UTV or other vehicle is the responsibility of the owner/operator. After 30 days, the owner can be fined each day after 30 days.
- Recovery rates for the machine can also be very expensive.
- This may not be the year to explore new locations – stick to known areas that typically have better ice conditions.
- Never consume alcohol or drugs before or during your ride.
- Carry a cell phone, and let people know where you are going and when you’ll return home.
- Watch for pressure ridges or ice buckling. These can be dangerous due to thin ice and open water.
Remember – the DNR does not monitor ice conditions. Local fishing clubs, outfitters and bait shops are the best sources for local current ice conditions.
Check out the DNR’s Ice Safety webpage for more information on staying safe on the ice, including tips for creating ice claws and what to do if you fall through ice.
Additional information on the Winnebago system sturgeon spearing season can be found on the DNR website. |
