Many who took to the ice Saturday found success, with 522 sturgeon harvested. The survey also asked about spearers' involvement in sturgeon management with the WCC or other committees, as well as general knowledge of lake sturgeon life history. Only 50 lake sturgeon were harvested Upriver (11 juvenile females, 10 adult females and 29 males). By Wisconsin Official Traded Sturgeon Research Eggs for Caviar, Prosecutors Say Ryan Koenigs, a biologist who oversees the state's sturgeon spearing season in Lake Winnebago, is accused of. He'll also have a mount of the fish made to commemorate the catch. In 2008, cities surrounding Lake Winnebago were hit with a large storm, causing major flooding and extensive damage to many homes around Lake Winnebago. MADISON, Wis. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is preparing for the sturgeon spearing season opener on Feb. 11, giving spearers a chance to harvest Wisconsins largest and oldest fish species. Licenses for the Lake Winnebago spear fishery must be purchased before Oct. 31, 2020, except for military personnel home on leave during the spearing season and youth turning 12 years old between Nov. 1, 2020 and the last day of the 2021 spearing season. There are 2 more shanties in need of sponsoring. Subscribe to OL+ for our best feature stories and photography. All rights reserved. In total, 115 juvenile females have been harvested, 481 adult females, and 442 males on Lake Winnebago. Unlike Lake Sturgeon, these species have to contend with large predators such as sharks even after they grow too big sizes. In Wisconsin, lake sturgeon inhabit the Mississippi, Lake Michigan, and Lake Superior Drainage basins. Tags Sturgeon Sturgeon Spearing Sturgeon Spearing Season Lake Winnebago Applicants authorized for an Upriver Lakes tag have until the start of the spearing season to purchase a license and cannot purchase one for Lake Winnebago. This year also yielded the highest-known opening day shanty count, with 2,079. Wisconsin 2023 Sturgeon Spearing Season Opens Feb. 11 Track the rest of the season online here. Colder weather is on its way into the area tonight so we may see an increase in spearing activity tomorrow. Lake sturgeon can live for 100 years or more. The Quinney and Poygan registration stations will remain closed. At 30 years old, she was most likely enjoying the warmth and searching for some tasty chironomids below the waters surface in 1969, the same time Neil Armstrong was looking down on earth, becoming the first man to walk on the moon. Both resident and nonresident licenses can be purchased through the, More information on harvest trends and management for the Lake Winnebago sturgeon fishery can be found on the DNRs, Office of Communications connects journalists with DNR experts. This year, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) predicts that harvest caps will be met prior to the 16-day season limit. Remember to be safe and that no ice is 100% safe. One entrepreneur sold unique signs at the Stockbridge registration station outside Harbor Bar. Male stages are similar, with M1 males not ready to spawn, while M2 males were ready to spawn in spring 2023. This massive fish was an F4 female measuring 75.6 inches and speared by Rebecca Van Handel. The staff managed to recapture one sturgeon from 2004 in 2012, and though the fish aren't weighed in the spring, its pre-spawn weight was estimated to grow to240 pounds. About 42,000 sturgeon are in the Winnebago system, and this year's harvest limits in Lake Winnebago for the sturgeon spearing season are capped at 430 juvenile females, 950 adult females and .