Feb. 20, 2024 Harvest Update

While the wind did finally calm down, today had the lowest harvest of the season, with 5 speared from Lake Winnebago (0 juvenile females, 0 adult females and 5 males). The biggest fish harvested was a 63.8-inch, 66.5-pound, M2 male speared by Bruce Rogers.

Fish are still being harvested Upriver with 2 juvenile females, 1 adult female and 0 males for today.

View the full details in today’s harvest report.

The last time there was an extremely warm winter with frustrating ice conditions was in 2017. Similar to this year, most of the harvest came during the first half of the season. That year, both Lake Winnebago and the Upriver Lakes season lasted the full 16 days.

The Poygan, Neenah, Stockbridge and Quinney registration stations will remain closed tomorrow. All other stations will remain 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.

Lake sturgeon caught during the annual assessment by the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency on Old Hickory Reservoir in 2023. The reservoir is north of Nashville along the Cumberland River stretch. This year, they caught a record 17 fish during their survey. / Photo Credit: Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency

Reintroduction Programs Part 3: Tennessee

Atop Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga, Tennessee, almost 850 miles from Shawano, Wisconsin, there is a gorgeous view of the Tennessee River. The Tennessee River meanders north and south through most of Tennessee, ultimately dividing the state into three geographic sections – the Eastern Mountainous region, the Western Plains and the Tennessee Hills in the center. Beginning in Knoxville, the Tennessee River flows 650 miles before emptying into the Ohio River basin on the western side of the state. With all its geological diversity, the Tennessee River is home to an incredible 200 fish species. Many of the United States’ most incredible and bizarre creatures also call the Tennessee River Valley home, including the largest nesting population of bald eagles, the gigantic hellbender salamander that can grow to an impressive 29 inches and the prehistoric lake sturgeon. Lake sturgeon used to roam these waters in high abundance until overfishing, and the creation of nine dams in the 1900s drastically diminished their populations. By the 1960s, the lake sturgeon had disappeared completely from the Tennessee River.

Since 2000, there has been a great effort to restore lake sturgeon populations to the Tennessee River and Cumberland River in Tennessee. Managers have been working with dam operators to create better flow patterns as well as passages that will greatly benefit many fish species. Winnebago lake sturgeon have been stocked in both river systems for 22 of the last 23 years (stocking did not occur in 2020). This is a cooperative effort between the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the University of Tennessee, the Tennessee Aquarium and the Wisconsin DNR.

Even before stocking, these lake sturgeon have experienced quite the journey! Lake sturgeon gametes are collected on the Wolf River (Wisconsin) in the spring, and fertilized eggs are transported to a hatchery in Georgia, where they will hatch. After hatching, the larval lake sturgeon take another trip to the Tennessee Aquarium’s research facility, which sits along a peaceful stretch of the Tennessee River. There, they will grow until the fall, when they will be stocked into both the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers.

After 23 years, almost 250,000 lake sturgeon have been released into both river systems. Managers and biologists from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency have recaptured almost 600 lake sturgeon in the Tennessee River and 120 from the Cumberland River during their sampling efforts. Anglers are also starting to incidentally catch them. Oftentimes, lake sturgeon catches are reported to the local biologist after being successfully returned to the river, where they will continue to grow. Now that the 20^th anniversary of stocking efforts has come to pass, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency will hopefully start to see a significant number of reproducing adults that will only continue to help bolster populations.

The Wisconsin DNR is proud of all the work we’ve been part of to reintroduce lake sturgeon populations nationwide. In the summer of 2022, three females with mature eggs were caught during sampling efforts on the Coosa River in Georgia, meaning they likely spawned for the first time this past spring. This is just the first success in hopefully many to come for lake sturgeon on these river systems.

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.