Feb. 19, 2025 Harvest Update

The low harvest throughout the system today is not unexpected as Wednesdays usually have the lowest harvest of the week. Today, 36 lake sturgeon were speared throughout the system; 31 on Lake Winnebago and 5 from the Upriver lakes.

As the season progresses, registration numbers around Lake Winnebago seem to be leveling out. There are four registration stations around Lake Winnebago that have registered 80 fish or more: Quinney with 96, Southwest Winnebago with 80, Downtown Oshkosh with 84 and Neenah with 93.

There were another 3 fish speared today over 100 pounds. Two of these fish were registered at the Neenah registration station. The biggest was a 150.1-pound, 78.5-inch, F2 female speared by Keith Kerstner.

Upriver, 1 adult female and 4 males were harvested. This brings the season total Upriver to 41 juvenile females, 44 adult females and 208 males with 7 of these fish being over 100 pounds.

View the full details in today’s harvest report.

There are only a few more days until the end of the spearing season. Many people will then be looking forward to the sturgeon spawning season. While it seems like this winter weather is hanging on, spring is just around the corner.

As the weather warms, the snow and ice around the system will melt, causing an increase in water flow down the system. As this pulse of water hits the Upriver Lakes and Lake Winnebago, lake sturgeon that have been preparing to spawn this year take notice and begin their trek. Even though the sturgeon will run up the Wolf River in early spring, enthusiasts will still have to wait for water temperatures to reach between 53 and 58 degrees before the sturgeon start spawning.

Please note that due to effort, the Pipe, North Winnebago and Winneconne registration station will remain closed tomorrow. Please check the Winnebago sturgeon spearing website or the Winnebago sturgeon spearing regulations for the next closest registration station and plan accordingly. Thank you.

Flathead electrofishing with a shocker boat and chase boat is used to capture all flatheads whenever they come to the surface as part of our regular flathead surveys.

It takes A Village: Wautoma Office

While most sturgeon enthusiasts know of the Wolf River due to its annual large sturgeon spawning run, the Upper Fox River is also an important part of the Winnebago system and the sturgeon population. The Upper Fox is managed by the Wautoma fisheries office, led by fisheries biologist Scott Bunde along with fisheries technician Trevor Hoheisel, who you may see surveying the Fox River or trekking up to help our sturgeon crews on the Wolf River, although their primary focus is managing all game fish in the waters of Waushara, Marquette and Green Lake counties.

The spring walleye run on the Upper Fox River has a close following among local anglers, with many considering it the best walleye fishing in the area. However, due to years of dedicated attention and partnerships, Lake Puckaway and Green Lake have also become area standouts for walleye.

The Wautoma fisheries office regularly conducts surveys on Lake Puckaway. It works closely with the Lake Puckaway Protection and Rehabilitation District, which supplements the walleye population with larval walleyes raised by volunteers. While the DNR has recorded good years of natural walleye reproduction on Lake Puckaway, there are some years, due to a variety of environmental factors, when supplemental stocking from the portable hatchery on Lake Puckaway helps bolster the population. In 2022, for example, 42% of the young-of-the-year walleye captured in fall sampling were from the portable hatchery.

Green Lake is a large deep-water jewel of a lake with unique fisheries management needs. The Wautoma fisheries staff conduct regular surveys and tagging studies (along with the help of guides, clubs and anglers) of the lake and recently completed a creel/angler survey. Each year, the Wisconsin DNR works with Walleyes For Tomorrow, which raises larval walleyes for Green Lake, along with the Sanitation District and local partners who obtain DNR fingerling lake trout and raise them to a yearling size. These organizations also work with the DNR to protect and restore habitat around Green Lake and its tributaries.

The flathead catfish population on the Upper Fox River has also become a popular fishery. Historically, there was not a lot of information about flathead catfish life history, making management difficult. That began to change in the early 2000s when the Wautoma fisheries crew started a long-term survey project to better understand these fish and determine the best management strategies. The surveys and data collected over the years indicated that flathead catfish are very slow-growing and long-lived, similar to lake sturgeon. This new knowledge led to new slot limit regulations on the system to allow these fish to reach larger sizes. As the flathead catfish surveys continue, the Wautoma office will utilize the data and available fisheries science to manage the system’s flathead catfish.

The Winnebago system is lucky to have the expertise of the Wautoma fisheries staff, whether out on the water managing the different sportfish in the area or at the sturgeon spearing registration stations.

Stocking sturgeon on the Montello River is thanks to the help of volunteers. The DNR stocks about 500 sturgeon annually with the support of Sturgeon for Tomorrow as part of an ongoing research project.

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.