Sturgeon speared on Lake Winnebago, February 18, 2021. PC: Fox 11 Online
(WTAQ-WLUK) — One quarter of the way through the 2024 season, sturgeon spearers are no more than 14% toward any of the harvest caps on the Winnebago system.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says 18 sturgeon were speared on Lake Winnebago: two juvenile females, seven adult females and nine males.
The Southwest registration station saw the most fish registered with 12. That station also saw the day’s largest sturgeon: a 68.4-inch, 85.1-pound female speared by Josh Roloff.
On upriver lakes Butte des Morts, Poygan and Winneconne, six fish were registered: one juvenile female, one adult female and four males.
A sturgeon speared on Lake Butte de Morts by Shane Braun was a fish the DNR had been tracking since it hatched more than two decades ago. It was raised in a hatchery and stocked in 2003. In 2009, it was captured in the commercial seine on Lake Butte des Morts. When registered Tuesday, the fish measured 52.1 inches long and weighed 21.1 pounds.
The Stockbridge, Quinney, Neenah and Poygan registration stations will remain closed on Wednesday.
The DNR is warning of changing ice conditions with winds picking up and daytime highs continuing to be above freezing. Meanwhile, the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office is warning of degraded ice conditions near the Leonard Point Boat Landing on Lake Butte des Morts after the recovery of the body of a missing kayaker.
Sturgeon spearing ends Feb. 25 unless harvest caps are met sooner.
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