2-11-22 sturgeon season gets underway this weekend

Thousands of anglers  will be on the Lake Winnebago system starting this weekend for the annual  sturgeon spearing season.  DNR  Senior Fisheries  biologist Aaron O’Connell says nearly 12,700 licenses were purchased this year.   O’Connell says lower water quality could result in a full 16 day season.  O’Connell says strong winds, open water and light snow cover are all factors in lower water quality.   O’Connell says it remains to be seen how many large sturgeon are speared.  “There’s a lot of big fish out there,”  O’Connell told WFDL news.  “…but this year we’re anticipating potentially leaner fish coming into the registration stations.  Typically when we see those really heavy fish coming in, those are in years when we see some measurable gizzard shad hatches,  and we haven’t seen those boom gizzard shad hatches since 2016.”   O’Connell says the Lake Winnebago system is believed to be home to the world’s largest self-sustaining lake sturgeon population.