The Upriver Lakes season is now closed for the 2022 sturgeon spearing season, the Wisconsin DNR said Tuesday. Spearers harvested 25 sturgeon on the Upriver Lakes on its final day.
This year, the DNR said spearers on the Upriver Lakes harvested 45 juvenile females, 88 adult females, and 216 males for a total of 349 fish and an overall success rate of 72.7%. Spearers on the Upriver Lakes harvested 13 sturgeon weighing more than 100 pounds.
The Lake Winnebago harvest continues to decrease as the week goes on, the DNR says, with 74 fish harvested Tuesday.
"We anticipate the low harvest to continue through the week until the weekend approaches and we see more spearers," the DNR said in its daily update.
"It may seem strange that this year’s lower harvest and success rate would result in a shorter season than 2021," said the DNR. "Population estimates for male and female sturgeon set the Winnebago System harvest caps, which are 5% of the 5-year average population estimate. The most recent population estimates have shown higher numbers of male lake sturgeon than adult and juvenile female sturgeon, which results in a higher allotted cap for males."
