Sturgeon Hook and Line Season

Download the hook and line sturgeon regulation poster [PDF 69KB]

Because of increased angler pressure and harvest in some of the more popular fisheries, a regulation change to protect all sturgeon equally will take effect on September 1, 2008 in all inland waters open to lake sturgeon angling.

• Sturgeon hook and line season to open Sept. 6 with new regulations

New 2008 Regulations

• The sturgeon hook and line season opens Sept. 6 and runs through Sept. 30.
• The minimum length limit for lake sturgeon harvest is 60 inches.

Exceptions

• Downstream from the Hattie Street dam to Green Bay on the Menominee River is catch and release only.
• The St. Croix River below St. Croix Falls, which borders Wisconsin and Minnesota, will not be affected by the permanent rule this season. The season opens Sept. 6 and runs through Oct. 15 with a 50-inch minimum length harvest limit.

Sturgeon Harvest

Anglers will still need to purchase a harvest tag if they intend to keep a sturgeon. The harvest tag is available throughout the season and costs $20 for residents and $50 for nonresidents.

Harvest tags can be purchased at:

• DNR Service Centers
• License Sales Locations
• By Calling 1-877-WI LICENSE (1-877-945-4236)
• Online

Anglers who harvest a legal-size fish must immediately attach the harvest tag to the fish and take it to a registration station by 6 p.m. the next day for registration.

• 2008 Lake Sturgeon Registration Stations [PDF 35KB]

All anglers must have a Wisconsin general inland fishing license unless they are under 16 years old, or were born before Jan. 1, 1927. Active military personnel who are Wisconsin residents and in active service but on furlough or leave are eligible to received a free annual fishing license.

Sturgeon are Wisconsin's largest and longest-lived fish.

Angling Opportunities

There are angling opportunities for hook and line sturgeon anglers in specific harvest areas in some of Wisconsin's larger river systems.

More on Sturgeon

• Hook and line harvest [PDF 44KB] from program inception shows an increasing harvest trend over the past two decades.
• Hook and Line Sturgeon Regulations
• Mysteries of the Great Lakes

For more information, please contact:
Karl Scheidegger, Staff Specialist,
(608) 267-9426.