WINNECONNE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – By many accounts, the 2020 Sturgeon Spearing Season on the Lake Winnebago System has been slow.
The Department of Natural Resources closed down 40 percent of its registration stations this week, but expects to reopen them this weekend.
The workers at the open stations are finding ways to pass the time. For many, the tradition of sturgeon spearing takes a lot of patience.
“I hear a lot of stories about people that wait sometimes years to just even see a sturgeon. So, it’s always exciting to see people come in when they finally get one,” said Kyle Olson, DNR Fisheries Technician.
But DNR sturgeon experts say because of ice conditions and the water clarity below, the 2020 harvest is down. Olson tells FOX 11 that includes the Upriver Lakes, and the registration station at Critters Wolf River Sports in Winneconne.
“I guess basically all reports say that it’s a rather slow year.”
Olson says he and his team members are patient too, while dealing differently with down time.
“A lot of talking. A lot of storytelling, just trying to stay busy. Sometimes read a book. Sometimes people actually bring laptops and do their emails and stuff. But it’s kind of, a lot of talking.”
But when a fish comes in, the crew is ready to register. Diana Sanders speared a giant sturgeon Wednesday on Lake Poygan.
“Getting it out of the hole was fun. It got out underneath the ice block, and my brother got soaked trying to get it unhooked. But we got it. The floor got wet, but we got it.”
The 111.5 pound, 72.8 inch long fish was documented, and plenty of pictures are taken too. The sturgeon had an electronic tag.
Crews handled it before, likely during a spring spawning run. Olson says information gathered helps manage the species and the sport.
“We still had a lot of good fish harvested so, there’s still plenty of success out there.”
The season is expected to run the full 16 days both on Lake Winnebago, and the Upriver Lakes of Poygan, Winneconne, and Butte des Morts.
