Gary Kiedrowski speared this 27.7 pound, 52 inch sturgeon on Lake Poygan. PC: Fox 11 Online
WINNEBAGO COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The 2024 sturgeon spearing season rolls on, and after day three, many consider it to be slow.
Experts say one of the reasons is the warm weather that continues around the area.
Spearer Gary Kiedrowski says the frozen surface on the northern part of Lake Poygan has his attention.
“The ice is booming and banging. Must be warming up with the sun. And there’s cracks, but there’s eight inches of ice. You just got to watch where you’re going,” said Gary Kiedrowski, Hatley.
The season on the Upriver Lakes is different than the one on Lake Winnebago. DNR Fisheries Supervisor Tom Meronek says the campaign is limited to 500 lottery-winning participants.
“You can’t just buy a tag. You have to put in for preference points every year. And eventually you have enough preference points built up where you can draw tag. And that’s typically taking eight years or so, right now,” said Tom Meronek, DNR Oshkosh Area Fisheries Supervisor.
Meronek says the Upriver Lakes are shallow, and typically have clearer water than Winnebago, putting the spearer success rate at about 62 percent, compared to about nine, on Winnebago. And that’s not all.
“There’s a higher concentration of fish up here, because the fish are basically staging in these Upriver Lakes to go upriver in the springtime, for spawning,” he said.
On Monday morning, Gary Kiedrowski brought a 27.7 pound, 52 inch sturgeon to the registration station at Indian Point. He and his wife have been spearing for about 45 years.
“We were sitting there. Our heater went out. The heater didn’t work for a while, and we’re in a tent. The fish came through at 9:00 and it was a peanut shot. He was in the middle of the hole, going slow. I wish some of the other ones were that easy. But I’ll take it,” said Kiedrowski.
The campaign continues, and is expected to last the full season on the Lake Winnebago System.
A total of 22 sturgeon were harvested on Lake Winnebago Monday.
An additional 12 were speared on the Upriver Lakes.
Since opening day Saturday, only 156 sturgeon have been harvested throughout the Winnebago system.
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