Sturgeon spearing season on tap for Winnebago System

When the 2023 lake sturgeon spearing season opens Saturday on the Winnebago System, it will include expected features such as thousands of shanties on the frozen lakes, ice roads marked by local clubs and legions of license holders participating in the world's largest winter sturgeon fishery.

And to the delight of many, it will also include the return of a cherished social aspect of the season: in-person fish registration at taverns and other businesses ringing the frozen waters.

"That's huge, that will be great," said Paul Muche of Van Dyne, an avid sturgeon spearer for 40 years. "Things are getting back to normal."

Due to health precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic, for the last two seasons the Department of Natural Resources shifted sturgeon registration to a drive-through process at sites established around the lakes. Spearers were asked to remain in their vehicles during the process.

This year the traditional registration stations will be open once again where DNR staff will measure fish and record harvest data and the businesses will welcome spearers and onlookers.

The 2023 Winnebago System sturgeon spearing season opens at 7 a.m. Saturday and runs for 16 days or until protective harvest caps are reached, whichever comes first.

The Winnebago System, including lakes Winnebago, Butte des Morts, Poygan and Winneconne, features one of world's largest populations of lake sturgeon.

While most sturgeon world-wide have suffered dramatic declines, the fish in the Winnebago System have been protected through progressive fisheries management practices and support from local conservation groups.

Each season the DNR sets a system of protective harvest caps that allow an annual harvest but prevents more than 5% of the stock from being taken in any year.

Spearers eat the meat from the fish and make caviar from eggs taken from females.

Last year spearers took 1,519 sturgeon from the Winnebago System, including 1,169 on Lake Winnebago and 349 on the Upriver Lakes. Only 500 tags are allowed each year on the Upriver Lakes.

The season lasted the full 16 days on Lake Winnebago and was closed after four days on the Upriver Lakes when the adult female 90% harvest cap was triggered.

Success rates were 10% on Lake Winnebago and 73% on the Upriver Lakes.

Ice conditions were generally favorable in 2022 and participation was good. On opening weekend last year, the DNR counted 5,986 spearing shacks on Lake Winnebago and 502 on the Upriver Lakes.

Expectations are similar for this year.

The sturgeon population remains healthy, said Margaret Stadig, DNR senior fisheries biologist and Lake Winnebago sturgeon biologist.

And interest in the sturgeon spearing opportunity remains strong, according to the DNR. The agency sold 13,219 licenses for the 2023 season, up from the 12,694 in 2022.

Funds raised from the sale of licenses are earmarked for sturgeon and fisheries management on the Winnebago System. A resident sturgeon spearing license costs $20.

As with each season, the number of sturgeon registered will hinge on two age-old factors: ice conditions and water clarity.

A warm start to January transitioned to more normal winter temperatures by the end of the month and have allowed ice to thicken on most of the Winnebago System.

Muche was out on Lake Winnebago on Thursday and reported ice thicknesses of 12 to 15 inches. He was optimistic local clubs would be able to mark ice many roads over the Feb. 4-5 weekend.

Water clarity was between 5 and 10 feet, Muche said. As of last week the DNR had yet to conduct water clarity checks; it planned to get out Monday, Stadig said.

With regard to the sturgeon population, the Lake Winnebago system was estimated at 12,304 adult females and 24,061 adult males, as well as an undetermined number of juvenile fish, according to the 2022 DNR sturgeon stock assessment report.

Both 2022 population estimates were lower than the five-year estimates (15,857 for adult females, 24,622 for adult males). But last year's estimates fall within the confidence intervals over the last five years and continue to be higher than numbers seen from the last two decades, Stadig said.

However, the DNR decided to reduce the harvest caps for female sturgeon this year. The 2023 systemwide caps are 350 for juvenile females (down 12% from 2022), 793 for adult females (down 9%) and 1,231 for males (up 2%).

Based on all the variables, Muche expected the Lake Winnebago season to last 16 days again this year, as it has for the recent past.

Stadig urged spearers and others accessing the lakes during the sturgeon season to observe ice safety protocols and reach out to clubs for local reports on conditions of the ice, ice roads, bridges and other features.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ice conditions, roads improving ahead of annual spearfishing season