OSHKOSH, Wis. (NBC 26) -- The 2020 sturgeon spearing season kicks off this Saturday, February 8th.
Ryan Koenigs, the Winnebago System Sturgeon Biologist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, said the two biggest factors in sturgeon spearing are ice conditions and water clarity. With the inconsistent ice conditions on Lake Winnebago, he said they're expecting participation could be slightly down this year compared to years with consistent thicker ice. With water clarity, he said they're expecting a full 16 day season with a below average harvest.
Koenigs said water clarity has the biggest impact on sturgeon harvest. He added that the better the water clarity, the more likely people are to see fish swim. He said typically, when there's an average of 12 feet of water clarity or more on Lake Winnebago, they're more likely to reach the harvest caps and have a shortened season.
"This year, we haven't been able to get out to definitively check water clarity given the variable ice conditions, but from what I'm hearing from a lot of spearers that are out scouting, it's 7 to 10 feet of visibility so below that 12 foot average or threshold," said Koenigs.
As for the Upriver Lakes, he said the conditions are better and water clarity doesn't play as big of a role, so he'd be surprised if the season lasted 16 days.
He also said it's a healthy population, similar to recent years.
This year the harvest cap is 430 juvenile females, 950 adult females, and 1,200 males.
