(UNDATED) A winter tradition played out again Sunday on Lake Winnebago, where hundreds of spearers pulled massive lake sturgeon through the ice — and one first-timer didn’t have to wait years for his chance.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources reported 375 lake sturgeon harvested across the Winnebago System on Feb. 15.
Of those, 300 fish came from Lake Winnebago, including 43 juvenile females, 132 adult females and 125 males. Most were taken on the east side of the lake, where spearers reported clear water.
After the opening weekend, Lake Winnebago totals stand at 779 sturgeon: 96 juvenile females, 371 adult females and 312 males. That puts the lake at 56% of its adult female harvest cap.
Stockbridge led all registration stations Sunday with 87 fish, bringing its season total to 235.
Upriver lakes saw 75 sturgeon harvested Sunday, including 10 juvenile females, 19 adult females and 46 males — even with fewer spearers on the ice.
With that haul, the Upriver Lakes hit the 90% harvest trigger. Spearers with Upriver tags can continue through 1 p.m. Monday, Feb. 16. After that, the Upriver sturgeon spearing season will close.
Lake Winnebago spearers can continue harvesting until sex-specific harvest caps are reached, or until overall system caps are met.
Hoyt Patt was among those celebrating Sunday. It’s his first season spearing, and he’s already on the board. His dad told DNR staff it took him 15 years before he speared his first sturgeon as a young man.
Hoyt didn’t have to wait nearly that long.
Success is far from guaranteed. In an average year, only about 8% of tag holders harvest a sturgeon. Spearers look for clear water and signs of food on the lake bottom. Even then, they still need a bit of luck — a sturgeon has to swim through the carefully cut hole in the ice.
Fourteen of Sunday’s fish topped 100 pounds. The largest was a 125-pound, 72.2-inch female speared by Jamie Wilson and registered at the Neenah station.
Warmer daytime temperatures are expected this week. The DNR urges spearers to check with local fishing and spearing clubs about landing access and ice conditions before heading out or retrieving shanties.
