Opening Day Sturgeon Spearing a Huge Success

All the hype leading up to the 2014 Sturgeon Spearing Season lived up to the high expectations as over 600 Sturgeon were registered on Lake Winnebago alone!  The Upriver Lakes spearers also had better than average success, spearing a total of 242 Sturgeon during the opener.

Amanda Scheafer with her first Sturgeon! 67"/78lbs

The hot spot on Lake Winnebago this season was the south end of the lake from Fond du lac to just south of Oshkosh.  Spearers took advantage of the clearest water in several years, which allowed for great visibility for spearers as well as the Sturgeon.  Sturgeon are curious fish which have shown a tendency over the years to inspect foreign objects that are placed in the water by spearers.  These decoys attract the curious Sturgeon to awaiting spearers.

Brandon Engel Speared this 72" 134 pounder on the north end of the lake

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The busiest registration station on Lake Winnebago by far was Wendts.  There was reportedly almost a three hour wait in line at the end of the day to register Sturgeon here!  With so many fish being registered, Wendts made for a great place to take the kids and check out the fish and festivities that make Sturgeon Spearing such a great family sport in our area.

The final tallies from opening day are as follows.

2014 Lake Winnebago - By the numbers as of February 8

	Daily harvest	Season harvest	Harvest cap
Juvenile females	74	74 (23%)	320
Adult females	314	314 (42%)	745
Males	248	248 (26%)	960
Totals	638	638	-

2014 Upriver Lakes - By the numbers as of February 8

	Daily harvest	Season harvest	Harvest cap
Juvenile females	30	30 (38%)	80
Adult females	57	57 (69%)	83
Males	155	155 (65%)	240
Totals	242	242	-

 
The season will come to an end at the end of the day when either 100% of any one of the cap limits are met, or at the end of the next day if 90% or more of any of the cap limits are met.  With so many fish being taken on opening day, this season will most likely be a short one!  Mark Schram of My Fishing Partner.com has also done a great job covering Sturgeon Spearing with videos, articles, tactics and plenty of other great information pertaining to the sport.  Here is a video on opening day 2014, enjoy!

Over the past few years the local new stations have really done a nice job covering Sturgeon Spearing, which is contributing to the popularity of the sport.  There is something special about the entire Sturgeon Spearing process from the scouting for worms and clear water, to the cutting in of the shacks, to hanging your lucky decoy, to throwing that spear at a prehistoric fish, and finally to celebrate with family and friends after a successful season.  For those of you considering spearing in the future, I strongly encourage you to give it a shot and decide for yourself if Sturgeon Spearing is a sport for you!