Sturgeon Spawning

Ryan Koenigs of the Wisconsin DNR says the lake
sturgeon are now spawning on the Winnebago System.  He says their crew was
able to capture and tag 52 fish at the Sturgeon Trail on County
X in New London
this morning, 7 fish at the Manawa Dam on the Little Wolf River and 12 fish at
the Clintonville Dam on the Pigeon
River.  Koenig says
this was truly a productive day for our crew as they were able to implant
10-year sonic transmitters into all 7 fish captured below the Manawa Dam and a
number of the fish captured on the Pigeon
River.  This is also
the first time that DNR staff have tagged fish spawning on the Pigeon River,
which is only 3 miles upstream from the confluence with the Embarrass
River.  Fish were also observed at numerous other sites
today, but these fish were not exhibiting strong spawning behavior at the time
we observed them. These sites include Bamboo Bend in Shiocton, Pfeifer Park
in New London,
the Shawano Dam, and then numerous sites on private property.  Koenig
predicts that today will be a very busy day with intense spawning taking place
at multiple sites throughout the Winnebago System waters.  Notably
tomorrow will likely be a big spawning day at the Sturgeon Trail in New London and Bamboo
Bend in Shiocton.  If you want to see fish at either of these two sites,Friday
will likely provides the best opportunity.  The DNR will have 3 tagging
crews working sturgeon at various sites tomorrow as well, but it’s too early to
tell which sites those will be throughout the day.  He says they will have
a tagging crew at the Sturgeon Trail starting around 9:15-9:30 and at Bamboo
Bend around that same time.