Sturgeon spearing season ends at 1 p.m. Monday

With temperatures in the 50s for much of the first week, including 3 days in Fond du Lac with record highs, not many people thought the 2026 sturgeon spearing season would run to fruition, yet just enough spearers headed out each day to chip away at the set cap numbers.

Many spearers reported that a turn to colder weather has helped firm up the ice.

With another 36 lake sturgeon harvested Sunday, including 19 adult females, the 90% trigger has been met which means the season will end due to harvest limits met today at 1 p.m.

As of the end of yesterday’s spearing, Winnebago System totals sat at 202 juvenile females, 662 adult females and 660 males.

The DNR says many spearers are still finding good ice and clear water on the east side of the lake, as 21 sturgeon were registered Sunday between the Pipe, Quinney and Stockbridge stations.

The largest fish of the day came from the Pipe registration station. A 138-pound, 80.3-inch female.