Local News
Sturgeon Reports Released By WI DNR
It’s hard to believe but you have less than two months to purchase your sturgeon spearing season license. Those licenses need to be purchased by October 31. And with the 2021 Sturgeon Season 5 months away, it’s a good time to look back to at the past season.
The latest numbers have been released by WI DNR Senior Fisheries Biologist, Ryan Koenigs. According to the research Koenigs and his team have compiled, they show the Lake Winnebago system is home to an estimated 42,500 sturgeon. Koenigs also said almost 13,000 sturgeon spearing licenses were purchases in 2020, which was slightly higher than the 12,500 average. It was no surprise that ice conditions proved to be the big challenge this past season, with only a little over 2,400 shanties observed on the ice on opening day, which was down 47% from 2019.
You can view the complete details on the past two seasons here:https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/WIDNR/2020/09/01/file_attachments/1531499/WinnebagoSystem2019LakeSturgeonHarvestAssessment_FINAL.pdf