180.5-pound lake sturgeon speared by Hayley Herzig weighs in as the fourth-largest lake sturgeon ever speared on the Winnebago system. (Courtesy: Wisconsin DNR)
MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin sturgeon spearing season opened Saturday on the Winnebago system, and the Department of Natural Resources said thousands of spearers took the ice.
Big sturgeon speared
Big picture view:
Luck struck many spearers on Lake Winnebago, including Hayley Herzig who on Saturday speared the fourth-largest fish ever on the Winnebago system with an F4 female that weighed 180.5 pounds and measured 79.3 inches long.
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Harvest totals | Saturday, Feb. 8
By the numbers:
The Wisconsin DNR said a total of 169 lake sturgeon were speared throughout the system on this opening day: 19 juvenile females, 57 adult females and 93 males.
2025 Wisconsin sturgeon spearing season opens on the Winnebago system
While shanty counts will happen on Sunday, the DNR said most shacks seemed to be on the west side of Lake Winnebago. Despite the poor water clarity, many spearers found success, with 82 lake sturgeon harvested on Lake Winnebago (28 males, 44 adult females and 10 juvenile females). Both the Downtown Oshkosh and Neenah registration stations had the majority of lake sturgeon registered with 21 and 25, respectively.
The DNR said access to the ice seemed to be a limiting factor for those spearing Upriver on Saturday. Despite the access issues, 87 lake sturgeon were speared on the Upriver Lakes (65 males, 13 adult females, and 9 juvenile females). Because most access points were difficult to access, most of the harvest was being registered at the Poygan registration station with a total of 53 fish.
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View the full details in Saturday's DNR harvest report.
Vehicles falling through ice, Wisconsin DNR issues reminders
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources on Friday issued a reminder to snowmobile and ATV/UTV riders that no ice is 100% safe.
The Source: Information in this report is from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.