SHAWANO, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – It was a busy Wednesday on parts of the Wolf River. The sturgeon run has gone 125 miles from Lake Winnebago to the Shawano Dam in the City of Shawano.
Dozens and dozens of tail fins signaled the run, as the prehistoric fish are in the shallows, to spawn.
Sturgeon Park in Shawano is a popular spot for both spectators, and scientists.
Three days into the sturgeon spawning run, and giant fish are active below the Shawano Dam.
“The warm water over Easter weekend really pushed the fish. We had the river temperature go from 48 to about 57 in two days,” said Ryan Koenigs, DNR Sturgeon Biologist.
Crews from the Department of Natural Resources, and UW-Stevens Point, netted fish Wednesday morning.
“We hope to handle anywhere between 500-600 fish today,” said Koenigs.
The fish are measured and tagged. Select sturgeon eggs and milt are collected and combined on site. For the past 17 seasons, a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service crew has driven 22 hours from the Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery in Georgia.
“Our population was almost extinct,” said Carlos Echevarria, Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery Manager.
175,000 eggs are expected to help the Lake Sturgeon population in the Tennessee River watershed and other places in the region. 17 years later, biologists are telling stories of success.
“It’s going very well. We’re starting to see a good number of fish in the river. and every year, the fish are growing. We already have some fish over 50-60 inches in length,” said Echevarria.
In addition to the science, sturgeon watching is quite the spectator sport. Dozens of people come from near and far, to take it all in.
“About an hour and forty minutes,” said Gerry Hall, Wallace, Michigan.
Gerry and his wife Cindy Wall, drove from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
“I’ve seen sturgeon, but not like this, It’s pretty cool,” he said.
“I think it’s amazing. It’s just something that you don’t see everyday,” said Cindy Wall.
The sights and sounds won’t last long. The DNR says the spawning run on the Wolf River could wrap up by week’s end.
The fish eggs typically take about a week to hatch.
The tiny sturgeon larvae drift downstream to the Lake Winnebago System.
After a month and a half, the sturgeon will already be about three and a half inches long.
