WINNEBAGO COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Sturgeon spearing starts Saturday and optimism might be at an all-time low.
Our temperatures are expected to reach 50 degrees at the end of this week. Combine that with wind, and potentially rain, Lake Winnebago could break fully open before sturgeon spearing season begins.
“If it all holds true, it’s probably going to be pretty difficult to get out there,” said Darryl Lehman, President of Payne’s Point Hook & Spear Fishing Club.
Lehman has been sturgeon spearing 25 years and has never seen worse ice conditions heading into the season.
“This ice is like March,” said Lehman. “This is ice that sometimes we end up on, but never start on.”
Still, Lehman expects some spearers will do whatever they can to get out.
“There’s going to be some guys on the east shore, they’re pretty hardcore about it. I think you’re going to see guys maybe spearing in the bays a little bit.”
“I’ve been here for 33 years and I don’t ever remember it being like this,” said Ryan Krings, a shift commander for Neenah-Menasha Fire Rescue.
Krings says the biggest concern for his crews right now is being able to get on Lake Winnebago because of the state of landings.
“We’re actually utilizing open water landings right now,” said Krings. “We’ve got some landings that are actually open in the rivers. That is a little easier for us to get the boat in.”
Lehman says most people are afraid to go out. He predicts the sturgeon spearing crowd will only be about 5% of what it normally is.
“There’s going to be a lot of people crying in their beer saying I wish we were out there, but there’s just not much you can do,” said Lehman.
Lehman and Krings both say if you try to go out, hopefully you’re very experienced. They remind you to check ice conditions daily, take a portable shack on and off each day, bring safety gear, and tell someone where you’re going if you’re heading out alone.
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