Winnebago System Sturgeon Spearing

As expected, harvest numbers increased on the Winnebago System today.  There were 26 sturgeon harvested during day 5 of the 2019 sturgeon spearing season including 14 fish from Lake Winnebago and 12 from the Upriver Lakes.  Of the 12 fish harvested from the Upriver Lakes, 2 were adult females meaning that we are currently 21 adult females away from the 90% trigger.  I anticipate that harvest will continue to increase through the weekend, but it looks like the fishery on the Upriver Lakes will go well into the weekend.   A detailed breakdown of today’s harvest can be viewed through the following link:

Day 5 – Harvest Report.pdf

The largest fish harvested today was 87.1 pounds (72.2”) and registered at Jim and Linda’s by Tom Walters of Oshkosh.  The largest fish registered on the Upriver Lakes was 74.1 pounds (64.6”) and brought into Critter’s by Dominick Schroeder of Oshkosh. A photo of Tom Walters and his fish can be accessed through the following link:

Tom Walters_87.1 pounds_72.2 inches_Cal Harbor_2-13-2019.jpg

Good luck to all spearers during the remainder of the season!

Today’s Vignette: “Living the Good Old Days for Big Fish”

Yesterday’s vignette focuses on the 171.0 lake sturgeon that was harvested on opening day of the 2019 sturgeon spearing season.  This was certainly a special fish and there was more than enough content for that fish to tell her own story.  Today’s vignette compliments yesterday’s very well and describes the increasing presence of big fish within recent spear fisheries and spring spawning stock assessments.

Living the Good Old Days for Big Fish_2019.pdf