OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — Ice shacks are up and holes are being cut on Lake Winnebago as fishermen get ready for the 2025 Sturgeon Season opener on Saturday.
- Brett Walser, owner of a local fishing guide service, goes out early to get the best spots for his sturgeon spearing clients.
- Fishermen drill ice holes on Thursday to prepare for Saturday's season opener.
- Those who participate every year look forward to reconnecting with the sturgeon spearing population.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story, with additional details for web.)
“In 30 seconds your whole life changes and there’s a giant fish swimming through your hole," Brett Walser, owner of Eyes to the Sky Fishing Guide Service, says.
Walser sets up ice shacks for his clients, many of who come from out of state to participate in the annual sturgeon season.
“It’s fun to show people our tradition and try and help them succeed," he says.
He goes to Lake Winnebago early in the morning to find the best spots for his clients.
He outlines a hole, cuts it with a chainsaw, pulls the shack back over the hole, and secures it with snow.
It's a routine that many on the ice are used to.
"Eighteen years I’ve been out here with my dad, hanging out and helping him out," Zack Wendt, a sturgeon fisherman says.
Wendt's family owns Wendt's On the Lake. Each year they display speared sturgeons outside the restaurant.
“You don’t see a fish every year but when you do you’re going crazy," he says.
For Walser, the hard work and the cold is worth it for the chance at catching a sturgeon.
“I’ll never forget one time I speared a 90-pounder with my dad, and it was crazy," he says. "That was probably one of the most exciting things I’ve ever done in my life.”
Even if they don't catch anything, Walser says the camaraderie keeps the locals coming back.
“The thing about spearing is it brings everybody together like I hang out with people I don't get to see all year," he says.
