The Department of Natural Resources has attributed warmer temperatures to the low sturgeon numbers yesterday (February 18th).
On Lake Winnebago, just 34 lake sturgeon were speared, marking the lowest total of the season thus far.
In total, 3 juvenile females, 14 adult females, and 17 males were harvested.
These numbers bump up Lake Winnebago’s total count to 1,405 sturgeon this year, with 83% of the adult female cap being hit.
Once either the number for adult or juvenile females or males reaches 90% of the season harvest cap, the sturgeon spearing season will come to a close.
Despite those warmer temperatures, spearers were not deterred, including Robert Cave, who stuck a 83.1 pound, 72-inch female lake sturgeon to highlight the down day.
Thus far, 35 100-plus-pound sturgeon have been speared.
The complete 2026 sturgeon spearing season tally can be found online by visiting dnr.wisconsin.gov.
