This year’s sturgeon spearing season may run a bit longer.
The DNR says it will increase the cap size for 2015 allowing for a greater harvest.
With about a month to go before the start of sturgeon spearing season there’s a growing anticipation along Lake Winnebago according to local fishing clubs.
Jim Gehrke, of the Paynes Point Hook and Spear Club said, “I’ve thought it should go up. If you look at the data and you look at the projections statistically it’s better than it’s ever been. It looks like it’s going to continue that way for the foreseeable future as long as we continue to get good reproduction rates every year.”
The largest increase will be in the number of adult female sturgeon available for harvest, jumping from 828 to 878. That’s a six percent spike.
The adult male harvest will rise from 1200 to 1250, and juvenile females from 400 to 430.
“Last year we had a record 106 fish harvested that were in excess of a hundred pounds. If we have good conditions this year we expect to see a large number of big fish show up in the harvest. That’s really the main story that’s going right now in terms of our sturgeon fishery,” said Ryan Koenigs, Senior Fisheries Biologist with the Wisconsin DNR.
While the increase in cap sizes is a big bonus to those who spear, other factors like water clarity and ice thickness are just as important.
“I mean if you can’t see, you can’t get them. If you can’t get out there in a vehicle you can’t get them. It looks to me like even though we had a little bit of a tough start with the ice the last few days looks like it’s doing pretty good. So we could have good ice. Water clarity we won’t know until spearing season,” said Gehrke.
The DNR says it’s sold 13,134 licenses to spear.
Opening day is February 14.
source WBAY.com
