February 15, 2022 – Washington County, WI – Day 4 of the 2022 sturgeon spearing season brought the final day of harvest on the Upriver Lakes, triggered by the number of adult female sturgeon harvested.
Spearers harvested 25 sturgeon on the Upriver Lakes today.
This year, 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 over 100 pounds.
This season’s largest fish harvested on the Upriver Lakes was the 148.2-pound, 79.0-inch F4 female speared by Stacy Beach on day 3.
Though the 2022 Upriver Lakes spearing season lasted just four days compared to 2021’s eight days and saw a lower harvest than in 2021, it was still exciting. Congratulations to all those spearers who were successful on the Upriver Lakes!
It may seem strange that this year’s lower harvest and success rate would result in a shorter season than 2021. 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.
View the full details in today’s full harvest report.
The Lake Winnebago harvest continues to decrease as the week goes on, with 74 fish harvested today. We anticipate the low harvest to continue through the week until the weekend approaches and we see more spearers.
Stockbridge Harbor has led the way among registration stations this season and today had 24 registrations. Calumet Harbor saw a busy day with today 16 fish registered, making it the second-busiest station of the day.
The Lake Winnebago harvest is up to 90 juvenile females, 268 adult females and 232 males for a total of 590 fish. With all Lake Winnebago harvest caps still well below the 50% mark (28% of juvenile female, 34% of adult female and 24% of male), Lake Winnebago spearers likely have 12 more days out on the ice.
The largest fish harvested on the Winnebago System during day 4 of the season was the gigantic 150.1 pounds, 75.0 inch F4 female speared by Mayson Muche. Not only was this fish the largest of the day, it narrowly surpassed Stacy Beach’s impressive 148.2-pound F4 female speared yesterday. Mayson’s fish is now the largest fish harvested during the 2022 spearing season so far.
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