By Mark Schram, myfishingpartner.com
The 2015 Sturgeon Spearing season is set to kick off on Valentines’ Day and is expected to bring plenty of sportsmen and sportswomen to the area in search of a prehistoric beast. The season runs from February 14 to March 1, 2015, or until harvest caps are reached.
The 2014 season was very short, running just 6 days before the harvest caps were met. A 77”, 161 pound sturgeon was the largest taken in 2014. Key reasons for the outstanding season were related to excellent ice conditions and clear water. Over 12,000 permits were granted in 2014.
As always, the opening day is a tell-tale sign of the overall success of the season. Last year, the second largest number of fish were speared in the first six hours of the season with 636 fish brought to the scale.
The harvest data from 2014 also showed a highest percentage coming from the southern third of the lake, especially along the southwestern shore. The northern sections of the lake showed the lowest production numbers, with the central basin finishing a strong second.
When it comes to sturgeon spearing, the upper lakes is king. Special permits are required to spear on these lakes. With the shallow nature of the lakes, clear water, and strong ice conditions in most years, success rates jump significantly. Last year’s season was three days, one of the shortest in history.
What to expect in 2015? The upper lakes are in great shape to have a quick and productive season. Ice depths are in excess of 20 inches in most areas, with some minor areas of subpar ice. Water conditions are moderately clear, with pockets of heavily stained water.
The biggest factor for the upper lakes is the larger concentrations of forage in 2015.
Our ice fishing experiences have shown that the forage base on Lake Poygan and Lake Winneconne is much larger than Lake Winnebago base. Fish go where the food sources are so the concentrations of fish have been in the upper lakes during the winter of 2015. There are numerous reports of walleye anglers hooking into sturgeon this winter on Lake Poygan although overall the forage base is below normal compared to most years.
Lake Winnebago is a wild card in 2015. Inconsistent ice has resulted in multiple deaths on the lake this winter, along with numerous close calls. The ice cracks and ice heaves have been active, and winds have been moving the ice sheet around, which open and closes cracks in a matter of minutes.
From a safety standpoint, there is concern among spearers about the ice. This may keep some participants away from the lake in 2015. In general, the lake has a solid ice sheet with an ice depth average of about 17”. Updates on ice conditions are always available at myfishingpartner.com.
Permits for 2015 have increased to over 13,000 participants. Harvest caps have also increased by 6%. The popularity of the sport continues to grow, along with the populations of sturgeons. With the uptick in permits, it is safe to assume that there will be many first time spearers on the ice in 2015.
At the time this article is being written, water clarity has been adequate on Lake Winnebago. Ultimately, this is the key element to any sturgeon season.
The far south end has extremely stained water with some visibilities reduced to about 4 feet, while the northeast portion of the lake has water clarity in excess of 13 feet. The water clarity has been volatile for the past two weeks, and changing often. By the opener, the clarity may have changed significantly again.
Predictions for Lake Winnebago: The inconsistency of the ice and water clarity will result in many spearers concentrated in select areas of the lake on the opening weekend. This may reduce harvest numbers initially compared to 2014, but a good start is still expected. Harvest caps have grown, along with the number of participants. Long range weather forecasts call for a cold and windy day for the opener. Our prediction is for an extended season, but not fully running the full 14 days. Ultimately, water clarity will influence the harvest numbers in 2015.
Multiple record size fish have been handled by the Department of Natural Resources during the spawning season each of the last several springs. Eventually one of these monsters are going to be harvested during the spearing season. This just might be the year, and Saturday just might be the day. Check out myfishingpartner.com on Saturday evening for the annual opening day video!
Good luck to all the participants!
