After many years, there is success for Scott Bruner on the Upriver Lakes. Congrats, Scott!

Feb. 16, 2024 Harvest Update

We have finally had a cold day with a cold evening. Due to that, we saw more spearers out on the ice today. If you plan to return to the ice this weekend, please remember that no ice is 100% safe.

Today’s harvest on Lake Winnebago increased from the last few days, with 3 juvenile females, 16 adult females and 17 males harvested. The southwest area of Lake Winnebago continues to have the highest harvest, with 22 fish registered at the Southwest station today.

Harvest on the Upriver Lakes also saw an increase. Today, 12 lake sturgeon were speared upriver (2 juvenile females, 3 adult females and 7 males). This brings the season total for the Upriver Lakes to 9 juvenile females, 19 adult females and 45 males.

At the end of the first week of the 2024 spearing season, spearers have harvested 35 juvenile females, 90 adult females and 139 males from the Winnebago system. Hopefully, this colder weather will persist for the weekend and into next week.

View the full details in today’s harvest report.

Scott Bruner has made the best of this year’s spearing. After many years of spearing, in this remarkably warm winter season, he has finally found success and speared his first-ever lake sturgeon from Lake Butte des Morts, a 67.1-inch, 66.2-pound, F6 female. Congratulations, Scott!

It’s still good to see groups getting together and making the best of what will be a very memorable season. Today, a group of spearers found incredible success, with six of their members harvesting a fish from Lake Winnebago.

Today’s biggest fish came from Lake Winnebago. It was a 75.7-pound, 66.0-inch male speared by Shanda Hubertus. This male sturgeon is likely 65 years old. Male lake sturgeon usually do not start to reproduce until they are about 15 years of age. That means this lake sturgeon could have potentially made almost 25 spawning runs up the Fox or Wolf rivers. That’s a lot of river miles to travel!

Tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 17, the Neenah registration will reopen. The Stockbridge and Quinney registration stations will be the only stations to remain closed.

All Upriver registration stations are open.

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

Friends Sam Southard, Eric Herzfeldt, Klayton Koll, Tim Walters and Marc Hietpas all celebrating their successful day on Lake Winnebago at the North Winnebago registration station.

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.