David Carnot poses with the 149.5-pound, 76.7-inch sturgeon he speared Feb. 10, 2025 on Lake Winnebago. (Photo courtesy Wisconsin DNR)
(WTAQ-WLUK) — Sturgeon spearing was a little slower on Monday after the 2025 season’s opening weekend.
With many spearers back to work and school, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says 65 sturgeon were speared on the Winnebago system.
On Lake Winnebago, there were 36 sturgeon taken: six juvenile females, 16 adult females and 14 males.
Upriver lakes Poygan, Winneconne and Butte des Morts saw 29 sturgeon speared: six juvenile females, two adult females and 21 males.
For the first three days of the season, there have been 355 total sturgeon speared. With 118 males speared on the upriver lakes so far, spearers are more than halfway to the 90% harvest cap that would trigger the closure of the season on those lakes. The season on Lake Winnebago is independent, and spearers remain far from any of the harvest caps.
Two fish weighing in at more than 100 pounds were speared on Monday. David Carnot took home the day’s biggest fish, a 149.5-pound, 76.7-inch female. Mike Boettcher had the other 100-pounder, a 138.4-pound, 79.7-inch female. There have been 18 sturgeon weighing more than 100 pounds speared this season.
Because of poor water clarity, the registration station at Pipe will be closed on Tuesday. The Quinney station is the next closest.
Spearing continues until Feb. 23 unless harvest caps are met sooner.
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