David Friess stands with his 10th lake sturgeon. This is his first Upriver Lakes sturgeon, which was a 55.2-inch, 36.1-pound, F1 female.

Feb. 12, 2024 Harvest Update

Things have slowed down on both Lake Winnebago and the Upriver Lakes for the third day of the spearing season. Only 34 fish were harvested between both areas (22 on Lake Winnebago and 12 on the Upriver Lakes). The Southwest Winnebago registration station continues to receive the highest traffic, with 17 sturgeon registered there today.

Spearers on the northern part of Lake Winnebago reported poor water clarity.

Some spearers are continuing to find access and success on the Upriver Lakes. 12 lake sturgeon were harvested Upriver today (1 juvenile female, 4 adult females, and 7 males), bringing the Upriver Lakes season total to 5 juvenile females, 10 adult females and 25 males.

View the full details in today’s harvest report.

One of today’s lucky Upriver spearers was Joshua Wittman, who speared the largest sturgeon of the day with a 58.3-pound, 62.2-inch, F4 female. David Friess also found success Upriver with a 36.1-pound, 55.2-inch, F1 female. Friess is no stranger to spearing, successfully harvesting 10 lake sturgeon over the years, but this is his first ever from the Upriver Lakes.

In addition to the already closed Stockbridge, Quinney and Neenah registration stations, we will be closing the Poygan registration station. Both the Winneconne and Indian Point registration stations will remain open Upriver. The DNR will continue to monitor spearing efforts to decide when to reopen registration stations later in the week.

We will also continue to include registration station updates in our daily emails, or you can check the DNR Winnebago System Sturgeon Spearing webpage for updates.

Lake Sturgeon Life Cycle – Part 1

The lake sturgeon life cycle is an odyssey that can take up to 25 years to complete. From birth to adolescence to maturity, each new life stage is sustained by new habitats, new feeding strategies and many miles of river. This is the first of a three-part story that follows a sturgeon through these life stages.

It is the end of April. The lake sturgeon spawn has ended in the Wolf River, and water temperatures are around 60⁰F. Only a week ago, schools of sturgeon blanketed the banks of Bamboo Bend to release their gametes (eggs and milt) above the artificial spawning habitat placed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. What remains are their fertilized eggs, developing safely in the deep crevices of the rocky habitat where other hungry fish mouths cannot reach them. One of these eggs is hatching. A sturgeon is born. The quarter-inch-long creature, about the size of a tic-tac, is a free embryo born with the egg yolk still attached to its body.

In the safety of the rocks, this embryo will absorb this yolk sac and continue developing outside the egg for another 5-7 days. During that time, it will grow fins necessary for swimming and become a larva. Finally, under cover of darkness, the half-inch larva will swim out of the spawning rocks and drift down the river in search of a new home. While drifting, it may encounter a net that has been lowered into the water by a DNR biologist trying to catch larval sturgeon to evaluate the success of the spawn. This larval sturgeon misses the net. Eventually, it finds a shallow habitat made of fine sand and gravel in which to burrow. There, it will hide and feed on whatever insects can fit in its mouth and will remain there until it grows large enough to not be considered drifting food itself.

Three-day-old lake sturgeon free embryos. At this stage they have a rudimentary mouth and their pectoral fins are only beginning to develop. They rely on a large yolk sac for food. / Photo credit: Kimberly Chojnacki, USGS

No Ice Is 100% Safe

Here are a few basic ice safety tips to remember:

• Carry a cell phone, and let people know where you are going and when you’ll return home.
• Wear proper clothing and equipment, including a life jacket or a float coat, to help you stay afloat and to help maintain body heat.
• Wear ice creepers attached to boots to prevent slipping on clear ice.
• Carry a spud bar to check the ice while walking to new areas.
• Carry a few spikes and a length of light rope in an easily accessible pocket to help pull yourself – or others – out of the ice.
• If you fall in, remain as calm as possible. While attempting to get out of the water, call for help. Anyone who attempts to rescue you should use a rope or something similar to avoid falling through themselves.
• Do not travel in unfamiliar areas or at night.

Have a plan in place noting where you will be and when you plan to return. Along with leaving a written note of your plans, keeping a charged cell phone is also recommended.

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.