Fishing WisconsinWinnebago System sturgeon spearing 2013

From another perspective ... Emily Walsdorf and her 70.6”, 115.1 pound female sturgeon taken on the last day of the 2013 sturgeon spearing season.

Winnebago System sturgeon spearing report - Sunday February 24, 2013 - IT'S OVER!

Spearers only have 1 more day to get out and try to harvest a sturgeon during the 2013 spear fishery. A total of 21 fish (1 juvenile female, 9 adult females, and 11 males) were harvested from Lake Winnebago today, of which 3 were larger than 100 pounds. We had some very nice fish harvested again today. Ryan Theobald’s 73.4”, 144.7 pound female sturgeon that he registered at Jerry’s was the largest one taken today, and the 3rd largest fish of the season. Dwayne Haensgen also registered a nice 78.2”, 133.8 pound sturgeon at our Calumet Harbor location in Pipe. One more day left in the 2013 sturgeon spear fishery, and then we will all have to live on the memories of past seasons until next year!

The end of my first sturgeon spearing season as the Winnebago Sturgeon Biologist is bitter sweet. Our staff worked long hours throughout the majority of the season and will welcome a break. However, we all enjoy the sturgeon spear season and will now have to look forward to 2014. I thoroughly enjoyed every part of my 1st season in my new position, and I look forward to many more seasons to come. The main reason that I enjoyed the season so much, and my job in general, is that I get to work shoulder to shoulder with a great crew and a public that is passionate about our sturgeon resource. I really enjoyed sitting at stations throughout the season and talking to spearers and sturgeon enthusiasts, it is the people that really make the job fun and I thank you all for making this job so rewarding! I hope for clear water next year so that we can really showcase the population and fishery that we have in the Winnebago System. The size of these fish is truly unbelievable and we continue to see top 10 fish being harvested each year, even with below average harvests.

Our crew will be tabulating data over the next few weeks and I will be sure to send out a summary of the season in the near future. I hope you all enjoyed the 2013 sturgeon spear fishery as much as I did and thank you all for your interest in our Winnebago System sturgeon population and fishery!

2013 Lake Winnebago - By the numbers - Closed on February 24, 2013

	Daily harvest	Season harvest	Harvest cap
Juvenile females	0	30	320
Adult females	7	131	745
Males	5	145	960
Totals	12	306	-

2013 Upriver Lakes - By the numbers - Closed on February 12, 2013

	Daily harvest	Season harvest	Harvest cap
Juvenile females	3	26	80
Adult females	9	85	83
Males	14	150	240
Totals	26	261	-

Winnebago System daily and cumulative sturgeon harvest numbers by station - 2/24/2013 [PDF]

Sturgeon vignette: Sturgeon for Tomorrow [PDF]

Every spearer has a story. One spearer's account of his largest fish taken to date.
Did we tell you that every spearer has a story? Stories of successful spearers during the 2013 season on Lake Winnebago.

Lake Winnebago system sturgeon spearing regulations

The 2013 Lake Winnebago System Sturgeon Spearing Regulations [PDF 885KB] pamphlet.

Sturgeon shanty rentals

If you or someone you know rents shanties for the spearing season on Lake Winnebago and/or the Upriver Lakes, please send the contact information to Ryan Koenigs. Shanty rental information is very popular (and helpful) to first-time sturgeon spearers.

Sturgeon license sales for 2013 season

A total of 12,092 licenses were sold for the upcoming 2013 spearing season on Lake Winnebago (11,601 licenses) and the Upriver Lakes (491 licenses). This total is down 4.6% from license sales for the 2012 spear season, but still ranks 3nd most all time. We expect to sell a few licenses to 12 year olds before the season begins and maybe 1 or 2 military on leave licenses. The popularity of the Upriver Lakes lottery fishery continues to grow, as a record 4,894 people applied for the 2013 lottery fishery (of which 500 licenses were authorized for purchase).