Feb. 16, 2023 Harvest Update

Winnebago and the Upriver Lakes remain slow. Today, only 19 fish were harvested between Lake Winnebago and the Upriver lakes. Sixteen fish were harvest from Lake Winnebago (1 juvenile female, 6 adult females, 9 males) and 3 from the Upriver lakes (1 juvenile female, 1 adult female, 1 male). This means there is still 1 adult female left until the 90% trigger is activated or 9 more adult females until the 100% cap is reached on the Upriver Lakes. The season will resume Upriver tomorrow.

View the full details in today’s full harvest report.

There were no 100 lb. fish harvested today. The biggest fish harvested was an F1 female that weighed 83.3 lbs. and measured 72.0 inches long from the Wendt’s registration shack. This fish was speared by Anthony Bovee.

Remember: No Ice Is Safe Ice

Ice conditions are worsening in the Winnebago System. The DNR has received reports of off-highway vehicles and ice fishing shacks going through the ice. The winds have blown away hazard markers indicating cracks and shoves. Keep close attention to local spearing/fishing club reports. Your safety is top priority.

If you do choose to go out, please review our ice safety tips.

Meet Emily McParlane, UW-Stevens Point Sturgeon Technician

Many kids growing up just outside of Chicago don’t get the opportunity to spend time hunting and fishing. Luckily, Emily McParland’s father taught her how important our natural resources are from an early age. They would drive hours to go hunting and travel across the country for fishing trips.

McParlane developed a love for everything to do with the outdoors, including hunting, fishing, camping, hiking and wildlife photography. This love for nature is the reason she decided to study fisheries and aquatic sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP). While there, she volunteered with the lake sturgeon spawn multiple times. To be able to help work with such massive fish and see how important they are to the community, she says, was the highlight of her college experience.

After working in Alaska and then at UW-Madison, McParlane began her career with the Wisconsin DNR as the private water compliance specialist, working with private water wells. In Summer 2022, she started her position with UWSP as the advanced sturgeon technician.

This opportunity allows McParlane to collaborate with the DNR and finally get back to work with, what she says, is the species that helped create her passion for fisheries, the lake sturgeon.

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.