Thus the increased harvest caps resulted in the longer season this year, not a reduction in the number of fish harvested. The number of applicants for the lottery sturgeon spear fishery offered on the Upriver Lakes (2007-2017). Sturgeon-spearing season on the upriver lakes is officially finished. Ryan Koenigs, WDNR Senior Fisheries Biologist / Winnebago System Sturgeon Biologist, Phone: (920)303-5450, Ryan.koenigs@wisconsin.gov, Office Location: 309 E Kimberly Ave, Kimberly, WI 54136 Sophie Carson/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin.

Doug Raflik/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, Three people stand outside a fish shanty Saturday, February 9, 2019 on Lake Winnebago between Fond du Lac and Oshkosh. Spearers wrangled 307 sturgeon through the ice on lakes Winneconne, Butte des … of the pre-set harvest caps are reached. For reference the harvest of 76 adult females in 2017 would have resulted in a full season in 2015 and 2016, but a shortened season in every other year (4 days in 2007-2008, 5 days in 2009, 7 days in 2010, 9 days in 2011, and 10 days 2012-2014). The Upriver Lakes also serves as overwintering grounds for gravid fish that would spawn that spring, while also being a nursery area for immature fish. Doug Raflik/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, Built within the Menominee Nation: How sturgeon shaped the Wisconsin tribe, Opening day of sturgeon spearing season sees excitement, big fish despite chilly weather, Omro moves football to spring after COVID-19 struggles, Terrific 10: Passion, commitment fuels Oshkosh West's Morgan Yenter, Takeaways from Week 1 of prep football in the Oshkosh area, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. I’m hoping to get a vignette out either later today or tomorrow about the large fish that have been showing up in recent spear harvests and spring spawning stock assessments, so stay tuned! Table 1. Green Bay Press Gazette • Sturgeon spearing season runs from February 9, 2019 through February 24, 2019 on Lake Winnebago or until any A Department of Natural Resources fisheries technician looks at a 171-pound sturgeon Saturday morning. To find out more about Facebook commenting please read the Conversation Guidelines and FAQs. This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you. Lake Winnebago totals sat far below DNR caps Monday. We are 40 adult females away from the adult female cap and 31 adult females away from the 90% trigger. Theenjoyre has been an annual sturgeon spearing season on Lake Winnebago the winter of 1931since 1932, but - it wasn’t until 1952that the first spearing season occurred on the Upriver Lakes (harvest of 200 fish). Lake Winnebago spearing will continue.

Sturgeon spearing season runs from February 9, 2019 through February 24, 2019 on Lake Winnebago or until any

Doug Raflik/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, Matt Bolen and Kyler Hagen of Northland College volunteer with Wisconsin DNR’s Tom Burzynski Saturday, February 9, 2019 at the Wendt's on the Lake sturgeon weighing station between Fond du Lac and Oshkosh. The 2000 spearing season was the first trial run at an Upriver Lakes season under the harvest cap system, with the season only lasting two days and a total harvest of 2,516 sturgeon (347 from Lake Winnebago and 2,169 from the Upriver Lakes). Ryan Koenigs, Winnebago System Sturgeon Biologist, 26 February 2017. The current harvest cap system was implemented in 1999 establishing system-wide harvest caps for the first time. This season marked the 11th lottery fishery on the Upriver Lakes (2007-2017), and the average success rate for those seasons has been 61.0% of license holders harvesting a fish, compared to 9.4% on Lake Winnebago during that same time frame (Table 1). Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter • Annual Sturgeon Spearing Season Getting Underway There are concerns about the ice condition for the annual spearfishing rite that draws thousands to Lake Winnebago and Upriver Lakes. In total, anglers speared 44 juvenile females, 90 adult females and 173 males. Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune. There has been an annual sturgeon spearing season on Lake Winnebago since the winter of 1931-1932, but it wasn’t until 1952 that the first spearing season occurred on the Upriver Lakes (harvest of 200 fish). Interested spearers apply for a license on the Upriver Lakes and 500 applicants are awarded a permit to purchase an Upriver Lakes spearing license each season. Opening weekend for the 2019 sturgeon spearing season is all wrapped up. There has been an annual sturgeon spearing season on Lake Winnebago since the winter of 1931-1932, but it wasn’t until 1952 that the first spearing season occurred on the Upriver Lakes (harvest of 200 fish). been reached prior to that high of harvest. Wisconsin DNR representatives Tom Burzynski and Scott Bunde work on a sturgeon that was speared Saturday, February 9, 2019 at Wendt's on the Lake between Fond du Lac and Oshkosh. A link has been sent to your friend's email address. Note: By choosing this product, you will receive your preference point for Upriver Sturgeon Spearing but WILL NOT be placed into the drawing to receive a tag. Doug Raflik/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, A scattering of fish shanties dots the horizon Saturday, February 9, 2019 on Lake Winnebago between Fond du Lac and Oshkosh. Increasing the harvest caps without allocating more licenses to the fishery should increase season length as more spearers need to fill their tags to reach the caps. At this point, I am predicting the Upriver Lakes season to close later in the week, likely Thursday or Friday. Percent of the sturgeon harvest from Lake Winnebago and the Upriver Lakes comprised of juvenile females, adult females, and males (2007-2017 data). Fourteen of the sturgeon caught on the upriver lakes were big ones, weighing over 100 pounds each. The lottery fishery on the Upriver Lakes was designed to offer an annual spearing season, while still maintaining harvest rates at or below sustainable levels. Hopefully this information sheds some light on the history that has brought us to the current spear fishery format on the Upriver Lakes. By noon Saturday the weigh station there had processed six sturgeon. Since the inception of the lottery fishery in 2007, the fishery has grown in popularity by leaps and bounds from 2,795 applicants in 2007 to 6,466 applicants in 2015 (131% increase in 8 years). Fond du Lac Reporter • Locate the Applications and Points section and selectBuy Permit Applications •Select the Upriver Sturgeon Spearing PERMIT Applicationfrom the Products list. Powered by, Preliminary Results – 2020 Sturgeon Spearing season, Day One Sturgeon Spearing Nets Only 44 Fish On Lake Winnebago, Deadline approaching (October 31) for purchasing sturgeon spearing licenses for the 2020 spearing season. The first modern sturgeon spearing season on Lake Winnebago occurred during the winter of 1931-1932, but it wasn’t until 1952 that the first spearing season occurred on the Upriver Lakes (harvest of 200 fish). Thus the Upriver Lakes harvest contains a higher percentage of smaller fish and adult fish with black eggs (females) or fully developed testes (males) relative to Lake Winnebago. Doug Raflik/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, Kurt Manning and his son James of Dubuque, Iowa look over a sturgeon Saturday, February 9, 2019 that was hanging at Wendt's on the Lake between Fond du Lac and Oshkosh. Sturgeon-spearing season on the upriver lakes is officially finished. Stevens Point Journal • of the pre-set harvest caps are reached. It's OK to disagree with someone's ideas, but personal attacks, insults, threats, hate speech, advocating violence and other violations can result in a ban. Until then, good luck during the remainder of the season!

Doug Raflik/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, A small crowd gathers Saturday, February 9, 2019 at Wendt's on the Lake between Fond du Lac and Oshkosh as DNR officials look over a sturgeon that was speared on opening day of sturgeon spearing season. There were 108 fish harvested today with 56 coming from Lake Winnebago and 52 from the Upriver Lakes. Sophie Carson/ USA TODAY NETWORK - Wisconsin. Typed comments will be lost if you are not logged in. The three upriver lakes weigh stations logged 148 sturgeon at Critter’s Wolf River Sports; 112 sturgeon at Indian Point Sport Fishing Club; and 47 at Boom Bay Bar and Grill. The adult female cap is 95, and Monday’s total was close enough to the cap that it triggered the season’s closure. One reason for the higher success rate is the shallower water on the Upriver Lakes. A detailed report of the number of fish harvested at each station can be viewed through the link: The largest fish harvested today was 148.3 pounds (77.1”) and registered at Critter’s by Michael Bohow (link to photo below). Thus males contribute more to the Upriver Lakes harvest than the Lake Winnebago harvest (Figure 2). Sheboygan Press • The nature of sturgeon spearing is you can’t spear a fish that you can’t see, thus spearing in shallower water is simply more favorable. All applicants not receiving a tag gain a preference point, which betters their chance to draw a tag the following year. Wausau Daily Herald • That season included the highest contribution of males in the harvest, thus the long season as the adult female cap normally would have Year Season Length (days) Lottery Applicants Registered Sturgeon Harvest Spearer Success.