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Day 16 Final Sturgeon Report

25 February 2019 News


DNR Sturgeon Biologist Ryan Koenigs writes:

The 2019 sturgeon spearing season on the Winnebago System is now in the books.  There were 23 fish harvested today bringing the season total to 479 fish.  The clear water along the north shore made areas 1 and 2 the places to be during this season.  This was evident by Stockbridge Harbor and Waverly Beach being the busiest registration stations this season.  The largest fish harvested on the season’s final day was 111.7 pounds (74.0”) and registered at Wendt’s by Kraig Kelliher of Hartford .  That name may sound familiar as this is the 2nd time in 3 seasons that Kraig has spearerd a fish 100 pounds or larger.  In fact, Kraig and his friend Doug Endlich were featured on the front page of the 2018 sturgeon spearing regulation pamphlet holding Kraig’s 140.5 pound (76.0”) sturgeon that he harvested during the 2017 spearing season.  Deja vue today as Kraig speared another 100 pound fish, but this time Doug also speared roughly a 66” fish on the same day.  Congratulations goes out to these guys on one heck of a day! You can a photo of them above.

Day 16 – Harvest Report.pdf

Today’s Vignette: “The 2019 sturgeon spearing season on Lake Winnebago”

Today marked the last day of the spearing season on Lake Winnebago, so what better topic to write about then how this season compared to seasons past.  Overall, I would classify this years spearing season as a success.  Water clarity was extremely variable throghout the lake with pretty good visibility (15-16’ in some areas) to the north and poor clarity (7-9’) to the south, but the ice held up throughout the season allowing spearers plenty of opportunity to get out in pursuit of a fish.  I’m confident that there were also many memories made that will live on well beyond this season. I’d like to thank all of the spearers for making 2019 a safe and successful sturgeon spearing season!

 The 2019 Sturgeon Spearing Season.pdf

I hope you have enjoyed the reports this season.  We will get working on entering the data from this year’s harvest this week and I will send out a successful spearer list and other summary information once it becomes available. I’d like to thank all of the spearers for making 2019 a safe and successful sturgeon spearing season!


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