Friends Sam Southard, Eric Herzfeldt, Klayton Koll, Tim Walters and Marc Hietpas display the sturgeon they speared Feb. 16, 2024, on Lake Winnebago. (Photo courtesy Wisconsin DNR)
(WTAQ-WLUK) — The seventh day of sturgeon spearing saw the coldest weather so far, and the season’s harvest total jumped by 22%.
On Lake Winnebago, 36 fish were speared: three juvenile females, 16 adult females and 17 males. On upriver lakes Butte des Morts, Winneconne and Poygan, spearers nabbed 12 fish: two juvenile females, three adult females and seven males.
For the season so far, 264 sturgeon have been registered, 191 on Lake Winnebago and 73 on the upriver lakes.
The largest sturgeon of the day was speared on Lake Winnebago by Shanda Hubertus. It measured 66 inches and 75.7 pounds. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources estimates the fish was 65 years old and may have made around 25 spawning runs up the Fox or Wolf River.
On Saturday, only the Stockbridge and Quinney registration stations will be closed. All others will be open, including the one at Neenah.
Spearing continues until Feb. 25 unless harvest caps are met sooner. Spearers are less than 25% of the way toward any of the harvest caps.
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