After small opening weekend sturgeon harvest, three registration stations close until ice conditions improve

LAKE WINNEBAGO — When sturgeon spearing's opening weekend usually knocks out a large chunk of each season's harvest caps, 2024's harvest so far yielded just more than 100 fish.

With spearers mainly trekking the ice on foot with pop-up shanties, the weekend total was 122 sturgeon speared across the Lake Winnebago system, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Of that total, 94 sturgeon came from Lake Winnebago and 28 came from the Upriver Lakes.

As a result of the ice conditions around Lake Winnebago, the DNR closed the Stockbridge, Quinney and Neenah registration stations after opening weekend until conditions improve.

So far, the North Winnebago, Downtown Oshkosh, Southwest Winnebago and Pipe registration stations will remain open, as well as all stations on the Upriver Lakes.

The opening day aerial shanty count, conducted by the DNR, found a little more than 450 shacks and pop-up shanties on Lake Winnebago — mostly concentrated on the lake's southwest portion — and 212 on the Upriver Lakes, mostly on Lake Poygan.

Sturgeon spearing opening day: Warm temperatures deter most sturgeon spearers from going on the ice

By comparison, last year's count on Lake Winnebago found more than 3,000 shanties, which had then been a significant drop from 2022's 6,000 shanties.

The first fish of the season was Ben Berger's 24.8-pound, 49.6-inch sturgeon, brought through the Downtown Oshkosh station around 9:30 a.m.

The largest fish of the weekend was 113.6 pounds, which Jon Sauer speared from Lake Winnebago on opening day.

Saturday's totals on Lake Winnebago were 45 sturgeon speared: 29 males, 12 adult females and four juvenile females. Of those, 32 came from the southwest area of the lake.

The Upriver Lakes had a first-day harvest of 13, including seven males, three adult females and three juvenile females.

The DNR reported freezing overnight temperatures lured a few more spearers to the ice on Sunday, leading to a total of 49 sturgeon harvested on Lake Winnebago and 15 on the Upriver Lakes.

Lake Winnebago's total breaks down to 23 male sturgeon, 15 adult females and 11 juvenile females, while the Upriver Lakes had 11 males, three adult females and one juvenile female.

In addition to Sauer's catch, two other spearers brought in sturgeon over 100 pounds. Jason Reinke speared a 104.3-pound, 68.9-inch female on Lake Butte des Morts Saturday, and Jacob Disterhaft brought in a 110.7-pound, 71.2-inch sturgeon on Lake Winnebago Sunday.

The 2024 season runs a maximum of 16 days or until the pre-determined harvest caps are met. The systemwide caps this year are set at 350 juvenile females, 805 adult females and 1,242 males.

Ice conditions will likely continue to change as the season progresses, and the DNR recommends checking with local fishing clubs for up-to-date information.

These include Friendship Fishing Club, Fisherman's Road Fishing Club, Stockbridge Harbor Fishing Club, Lower Cliff Fishing Club, Pipe Fishing Club, Otter Street Fishing Club, Foot of the Lake Fishing Club, Quinney Fishing Club, Brothertown Fishing Club and Lake Poygan Sportsmen's Club.

Additionally, Don Herman posts ice conditions and concerns on the Facebook page for SUNK? Dive and Ice Service, his business that pulls sunken vehicles out of the ice.

For up-to-date details and numbers throughout the season, including updates on the closed registration stations, visit dnr.wisconsin.gov.

Daphne Lemke is the Streetwise reporter for the Fond du Lac Reporter. Contact her at dlemke@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Fond du Lac Reporter: Wisconsin sturgeon spearing opening weekend totals drop, ice is poor