Speared sturgeon IMAGE: Bill Scott
Lake Winnebago will be full of spearfishers Saturday, hoping to see a sturgeon swim under their hole. DNR Sturgeon Coordinator Ron Bruch says it should be a good year on the ice. “Conditions are actually not too bad,” says Bruch. He says there are some cloudy areas in the lake, but much of it is clear down to the bottom. He says sunny conditions will help: “we’re looking forward to a good opening day.”
Bruch says he expects fishermen to harvest a number of sturgeon over 100 pounds. “It should be a very successful year. We’ve been running about 1500 fish a year, and I expect to see that again this year.” The season will continue for 16 days or until harvest caps are hit. “Last year we went eight days, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see us get through most of the first week,” says Bruch.
Bruch says it could be a good year for harvesting big sturgeon. “Last year we had 42 fish between 100 and 168 pounds, so I expect to see similar results this year.”
Rick Schuh, WHBY