Local News
Opening Day Sturgeon Success On Upriver Lakes Saturday, Season There Could End Sunday
| Day one of the 2022 sturgeon season is complete. There were 431 lake sturgeon harvested on the Winnebago System on Feb. 12, 2022. The harvest on the Upriver Lakes totaled 197 fish, reaching 61% of the allotted adult female cap. Based on the current total adult female harvest on the Upriver Lakes, it is anticipated the season will be shorter than last year. It could potentially wrap up on Sunday, Feb. 13 or Monday, Feb. 14. After opening day, the juvenile female and male caps on the Upriver Lakes remain far out of reach. Saturday, the Indian Point registration station led the Upriver Lakes with 76 fish registered. The opening day harvest on Lake Winnebago was low as expected due to less than ideal water clarity conditions. The harvest on Lake Winnebago Saturday was 234 fish. The Stockbridge Harbor station processed 79 registrations, leading the Winnebago stations. The rest of the registration stations experienced similar activity with an even distribution of harvest across the lake. The harvest cap on Lake Winnebago is at 14% of the cap for the adult female harvest and approximately 9% of the male and juvenile female cap. Most are expecting a long season on Lake Winnebago unless harvest increases dramatically. Counts of the number of shacks on both Lake Winnebago and the Upriver Lakes were also conducted Saturday. On Lake Winnebago, there were 5,986 shacks, with another 502 on the Upriver Lakes. Area 1 and 2 led Lake Winnebago with 2,160 and 1,295, respectively. The slightly clearer water in the lake’s northern half likely led more spearers to those areas. On the Upriver Lakes, most shacks were on Lakes Poygan and Winneconne, 474 on the two combined, while Lake Butte des Morts only had 28 shacks. View the full details in today’s full harvest report. Out of the 431 fish harvested on opening day, 19 were over 100 pounds, approximately 4.4%. The largest harvested from Lake Winnebago was the 141.0 pound 75.5 inch F4 female speared by Brian Olson. Saturday, Brian’s fish was one of five fish over 100 pounds registered at the Blackwolf station. On opening day, the largest fish harvested from the Upriver Lakes was the 138.2 pound 76.1 inch F4 speared by Keyshia Wilz. Congratulations to all spearers who were successful today! |
