LAKE WINNEBAGO, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The sights and sounds of the sturgeon spearing season were heard across the Lake Winnebago System Thursday.
Crews are “cutting in” ahead of Saturday’s Opener.
“Everybody’s starting to cut holes. It’s like a holiday for everybody in February,” said Adam Ecker, Quinney Fishing Club Member.
Ecker was cutting through about 15 inches of ice,
“It isn’t too bad. Everybody’s got their own techniques of doing it, and how they want to do it. How’s the ice today? Good. Good. Everything seems all right.”
After the hole is carved, crews step in to help guide the large chunk under the surface of the lake. The ice shanty is slid into place, and spearers use a decoy to check the clarity of the water below.
“Clarity is 10-12 feet on average, where we’ve been checking. So what does that mean for the spearers? It should be a better season than the last couple, or the last few years. So, it might be a shorter season,” said Mark Ecker, Quinney Fishing Club Plow Committee President.
Mark Ecker tells FOX 11 conditions on the ice are not as favorable. He says recent cold means there’s about twice as much ice on the eastern part of the lake as last year, but this season is different.
“We have cracks continuously appearing. You can be driving and you come upon cracks constantly out here, as we did on our way out obviously. What causes that? The cold temperatures. I think it’s freezing too fast, where it can’t keep up with the changing conditions.”
“What’s the danger? It could be either way, you could get hung up or you can go through. It’s just safer not to jump it if you have to, or wait to find a bridge. What if the crack goes all along the shore? Wait for a fishing club to put a bridge over it,” said Adam Ecker.
The season starts on Saturday. It is scheduled to run 16 days, or until the safe-harvest cap is reached.
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