Winnebago System Sturgeon Spearing Season 2010

Sturgeon Hotline

The sturgeon hotline number with an updated recording each day

Spearing season...the time draws near

February 5 - In 6 days spearers will begin cutting in, and in 8 days 10,000+ people will be peering down their spear holes hoping the big one swims by.............here's a few pre-season information tidbits that you may find interesting and useful..................

Water Clarity and Ice Conditions

Recent reports indicate ice is generally 16-19 inches over most of the lakes, although there are still areas with thin ice or even open water near areas with current. Anyone traveling on the ice is advised to make sure they know how much ice is under them where-ever they may be on the lakes. The clubs around the lakes have marked roads with upright Christmas trees spaced every 1/4 mile and are maintaining bridges over expansion cracks - please support these organizations for all their hard work in making travel on the ice easier and safer. Remember - Christmas trees laying down on the ice mark bad ice, cracks or other dangerous conditions. Once spearing season starts, spearers are required to mark abandoned spearing holes with wood lath (usually painted black) drilled into the ice on two sides of the hole.

Water clarity as of Feb 4 is excellent over most of the lakes, although cloudy water from the Wolf and Fox Rivers is causing diminished clarity in some areas of Lake Winnebago and Lake Poygan.

Winnebago System Water Clarity Map as of 4 February 2010 [PDF 439KB]

Most Often Asked Sturgeon Spearing Law Enforcement Questions

We often get asked the same law enforcement questions about the do's and don'ts of sturgeon spearing every year. Our Warden Supervisor for the area, George Protogere, put together the following to help get ahead of the question curve this year:

Can I hook/line fish in the shanty if I close the lid on the spearing hole?

No it is illegal to possess hook/line equipment in a shanty with an ice hole larger than 12” across. Fishing gear must be outside the shanty. If the spearing hole has frozen over a hole 12” or less can be made and a person could fish with hook/line through it

Can I use an underwater camera?

Yes, however if the camera is equipped with lights they would need to be disabled in some manner. Putting electrical tape or duct tape over the lights works the best.

What can I put on the bottom or use for a decoy?

Whatever is placed in the water must be removed or retrieved when asked. In most cases items are attached to a string or can be “hooked” for removal. Decoy types are unlimited as long as they don’t involve any lights (glow sticks are illegal) or hooks. Minnows can be used provided they are in a sealed container and regulations related to minnow use and transportation would apply. Decoys with fluorescent paint can be used.

Can I sit and watch for sturgeon after the 12:30 pm closure?

Yes, if there is no spear inside the shanty being occupied.

Can I be in a shanty after hours with a dismantled spear (head removed)?

Once spearing hours close a person cannot be in a shanty with a spear. If the spear head is removed it must be placed outside the shanty when occupied.

Can my friend sit with me in the shanty and not have a license?

Yes, the person with the valid license is the only person who can spear a fish. An unlicensed person cannot be inside a shanty alone with a spear.

Can I have 2 or more spears in the shanty and only 1 valid tag?

Yes, see the answer from the preceding question.

Can I drive past a registration station with an unregistered fish en route to another registration station?

Yes, provided the fish is openly exposed to view while in or on the vehicle, the tag can’t be handled or manipulated, and the sturgeon is accompanied by the person who speared and tagged it, and you don’t go outside the listed highway boundaries.

Can I use a fish locator, flasher, or vexlar?

Yes, as long as it doesn’t involve the use of lights in the water.

Can I put tip-ups outside the shanty and how close can they be to the shanty?

Yes, they must be attended and immediately responded to if a bite is indicated. There is no minimum or maximum distance from the shanty as long as they aren’t unattended.

2010 Lake Winnebago Sturgeon Spearing Season Totals

The current lake sturgeon population in the Winnebago System is estimated at about 60,000.
Copyright Bob Rashid, 2008

	Daily Harvest	Season Harvest	Harvest Cap
Juvenile Females	-	-	280
Adult Females	-	-	666
Males	-	-	800
Totals	-	-	1746

2010 Upriver Lakes Sturgeon Spearing Season Totals

	Daily Harvest	Season Harvest	Harvest Cap
Juvenile Females	-	-	70
Adult Females	-	-	74
Males	-	-	200
Totals	-	-	344

Upriver Lakes Background

Spearers are drawn to the high quality fishery in the Upriver Lakes as the success rate averages over 60%, whereas the success rate on Lake Winnebago averages only 13%. During the course of the year the Upriver Lakes are a nursery ground for juvenile sturgeon, but in the winter thousands of adult sturgeon from Lake Winnebago join these juveniles for a short stay prior to finishing their spawning run up the Wolf and upper Fox Rivers come spring. Adult female sturgeon don't begin spawning until they are in their 20s, and then spawn only once every 4 years, while males begin spawning in their late teens/early 20's with about 60-70% of the adult male stock spawning every year - hence the much higher proportion of male sturgeon in the sex ratio of the Upriver Lakes harvest compared to the harvest from Lake Winnebago.

The Upriver Lakes sturgeon spear fishery was first initiated in 1952, put in place to replace a set-line fishery there that was closed at the time out of concerns about illegal sturgeon harvest on set lines. Upriver Lakes spearing seasons were held annually from 1952 to 1957, with no limit to the number of spearers on the three lakes (Lakes Butte des Mort, Winneconne, and Poygan). Also at this time spearers could spear both Winnebago and the Upriver Lakes in the same season. Concern about excessive harvest in these first six years led to holding seasons on the Upriver Lakes once every three years, then later every five years. In the year 2000 an unlimited fishery on the Upriver Lakes produced a harvest of 2,169 in two days, emphasizing the need for a restricted fishery there which in turn gave rise to current lottery fishery in place since 2007.

The illegal set-line harvest of juvenile lake sturgeon that took place from 1932-1951 was severe enough to be noticed in size distributions of sturgeon system-wide in the 1950s through the 1980s - there was an entire group of fish nearly missing from the population in those decades. Many of the large 150+ pound fish we are seeing in the harvest the past few years were the first juvenile fish afforded protection from the excessive illegal set-line harvest beginning in 1952.

Sturgeon Registration Stations

A person who spears a sturgeon must accompany and exhibit the tagged sturgeon at an official sturgeon registration station no later than 1:30 p.m. on the day speared. To avoid the "end of the day" rush please bring your fish in as soon as possible after spearing it. You must be at the registration station and in-line to register your fish by 1:30 p.m.

Lake Winnebago

Waverly Beach Resort - Junction of U.S. Hwys 10 and 14
Behind Harrison Town Hall - Junction of U.S. Hwys 114 and State Park Rd
Harbor Bar - Stockbridge on the lake
Quinney Quencher - Quinney on the lake
DNR Calumet Harbor Station - Pipe on the lake
Wend'ts Bar and Harbor - Hwy 45, 8 miles north of Fond du Lac
Jerry's Tavern - 1210 Ceape St., Oshkosh
Payne's Point Tavern - Cty Trk A, 3 miles south of Neenah

Upriver Lakes

Critters Wolf River Sports - 131 W. Main Street, Winneconne
Indian Point Tavern - Cty Trk H 1/2 m. E of Tustin
Boom Bay Boat Landing - Cty Trk MM on Boom Bay, Lake Poygan

Regulations and Information

Please refer to the 2010 Winnebago System Sturgeon Spearing Regulations and Information [PDF 1.23MB] for complete regulations.

Total harvest of sturgeon will be limited through pre-set harvest caps. The overall harvest cap has increased slightly with the increase in harvest numbers of adult female sturgeon. Harvest caps for the 2010 Winnebago System spearing season are 350 for juvenile females, 740 for adult females and 1000 for males.
There will be a bag limit of one lake sturgeon per license and a minimum length limit of 36 inches.
Lake Winnebago - February 13, 2010 through February 28, 2010 on Lake Winnebago or until the pre-set harvest cap for Lake Winnebago is reached, OR the pre-set Winnebago System-wide harvest cap is reached, whichever comes first (as per trigger closure rules).
Upriver Lakes - February 13, 2010 through February 28, 2010 on the Upriver Lakes (Lakes Butte des Morts, Winneconne and Poygan) or until the pre-set harvest cap for the Upriver Lakes is reached, OR the pre-set Winnebago System-wide harvest cap is reached, whichever comes first (as per trigger closure rules).

An Interview with Ron Bruch

Ron Bruch, Senior Fisheries Biologist/Work Unit Supervisor with the DNR shares some insights on the 2010 sturgeon spearing season:

How the 2010 season is shaping up [WMA: 1.29MB]
Coming off a record-setting 2009 season [WMA: 876Kb]
Good shot at a super trophy fish [WMA: 880Kb]
Finding the hotspots on Lake Winnebago [WMA: 1.70MB]
The secret behind the Upriver Lakes sturgeon population[WMA: 2MB]

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

Last Revised: Saturday February 06 2010