Sturgeon spearing on the Winnebago system (Lake Winnebago, Lake Poygan) is nearly upon us.
This annual event draws thousands of sportsmen and sportswomen out to the lakes for the grand event. Daily spearing starts at 6:30 am each morning and concludes shortly after noon. At that time many of the festivities begin.
If you have never been to the weigh in during the spearing season, it is a must attend event. The prehistoric fish are brought to one of 11 weight stations around Lake Winnebago or Lake Poygan. Throngs of people line up to see each days harvest with eyes wide open and a beer in their hands. Note…. The beer helps keep your fingers from getting cold, if you consume enough of them.
Lake Winnebago sturgeon
Each fish is raised onto the scale, identical to the rope and pulley system used to hoist a massive deer during hunting season. The crowds whisper their guess as to the weight of each fish to their companion, with side bets common. As the fish is raised, the proud spear chucker usually poses for photographs for the large crowd.
The sturgeon is taken down off the scale, typically to be dragged through the crowd and back to the vehicles. Some smarter spearers will use their children’s sleds to drag the fish easier. It is not uncommon for sturgeon to weigh in at over 100 pounds, and last year a new record was set with a 212 pound fish.
Several taverns in the area have been known to allow the fish to be brought into the bar and to lay them on the floor as the celebration ensues for the sportsmen.
The activity of sturgeon spearing is not strenuous, but it is exhausting. The spearer will stand over an open hole and needs to stare into the water waiting for a sturgeon to swim underneath. Have you ever tried to stare into the cloudy lake water for 6 hours continuously? If you walk away, you might miss your only opportunity for the 12 day season. The majority of spearers will never see a fish throughout the entire season.
Many hunters will lower hand painted decoys into the water to try to attract the fish into their opening. The wood or plastic decoys typically are 36” in length, so that the spearer can determine if the sturgeon is large enough to harvest. (36” is the minimum harvest size).
2011 Sturgeon spear video, Lake Winnebago Expert spearers have been known to buy up all the candy canes after Christmas while on clearance at local retail stores. They will add the candy cane to the decoy. The jury is still out if it is the color which attracts the sturgeon, or the dissolving of the candy cane; however, local lore says this system is productive to attract fish.
A Lake Winnebago Sturgeon
All of the weigh in areas are fun to be at, but my favorite has always been the StockBridge,WI location. There tends to be more fish weighed in at this location (due to the deep clear water) plus there are some real unique characters which hang around at this location. A word of advice, Be smart where you park, because it is not uncommon to wait an hour to get out of the limited parking due to traffic.
The 2013 season runs from February 8 to February 24, or until pre set harvest limits are met. Daily updates on the season can be found at www.myfishingpartner.com. Myfishingpartner will be shooting photos and video from around the lake on opening day.
