LAKE WINNEBAGO, WI (WTAQ) – A total of 951 sturgeon were speared during this year’s 16-day season, which ended on Sunday.
DNR Fisheries Biologist Ryan Koenigs says the 654 fish speared on Lake Winnebago is roughly 100 more than last year, with the upriver lakes’ total holding relatively steady at 297.
“Last season, I think we actually would’ve exceeded this year’s harvest. It was a full 16-day season, but we had some safety issues and effort was significantly reduced during probably the last half of the season, or longer because of the warm weather and the deteriorating ice conditions.”
Koenigs says some spots were definitely more favorable for spearers than others.
“The busiest registration stations that we had on Lake Winnebago were Calumet Harbor and Wendt’s On the Lake in the Van Dyne area. Combined, they registered about 340 fish.”
Although the official numbers have not been calculated, Koenigs says “visually, it seemed that the fish this year were a little bit leaner than what we’ve probably been accustomed to in the last 5-10 years. That makes sense given the overall lack of forage.”
Koenigs says this year was better than other dirty-water years but significantly worse than ones with favorable conditions.
