Winnebago System Sturgeon Spearing

Day 6 of the 2019 sturgeon spearing season ended identical to day 5.  Both days included harvest of 14 fish from Lake Winnebago and 12 fish from the Upriver Lakes.  Further, both days included 2 adult females harvested from the Upriver Lakes and 0 fish on the system that were 100+ pounds.  With today’s harvest, we are now 19 adult females away from the 90% trigger on the Upriver Lakes.  Each day we get a little closer to that cap, but it’s going to take a substantial increase in harvest to reach the 90% trigger by the end of the weekend.  There are plenty of opportunities remaining for spearers to get out and harvest fish yet. A detailed breakdown of today’s harvest can be viewed through the following link:

Day 6 – Harvest Report.pdf

The largest fish harvested on the Upriver Lakes today was 72.4 pounds (66.8”) and registered at Boom Bay by Randall Sorensen.  The largest fish harvested on the Winnebago System was 79.0 pounds (67.8”) and registered at Waverly Beach by Christina Stolle of Menasha.  This is Christina’s first year spearing and she was very excited to fill her tag.  A photo of Christina and her fish can be accessed through the following link:

Tina Stolle_79.0 pounds_67.8 inches_Waverly_2-9-2019.jpg

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

Today’s Vignette: “The 1969 Spearing Season”

The 1969 sturgeon spearing season was categorized by poor water clarity that resulted in the lowest harvest on record at that time.  To be honest, the file for the 1969 spearing season is pretty light.  I was able to find the date and spearer for each fish that was registered, along with the length and weight of those fish but there wasn’t much else.  After talking to Dan Folz, who was the sturgeon biologist from 1974-1989, it became apparent that there was not as much of an emphasis on the sturgeon population at that time.  Dan was a very accomplished biologist and he revamped the sturgeon assessment program on the Winnebago System including the harvest assessment.

Spearers are well aware that water clarity in recent years has been negatively impacted by stretches of mild winter weather that have caused large runoff events.  It appears that the 1969 season was impacted by a similar event.  Reports are that, “clear water was available up to January 24 when it gradually clouded up from runoff water so that spearers could only see six or seven feet the majority of the season.”  That sounds familiar to some of the events in recent years.

1969 Harvest.pdf

Fish harvested from LW during 1969 season.pdf

It’s always interesting looking back on the history of this sport.  I hope you find the material as interesting as I do!