WINNEBAGO COUNTY, Wis. (WFRV) – Sturgeon spearing season begins in Northeast Wisconsin on Saturday.
It’s the event that thousands of Northeast Wisconsinites look forward to every single year.
“When you do get a fish no matter how big it is, it’s exciting and you get hooked,” said Shawn Wendt who is the owner of Wendt’s on the Lake and a member of the West Shore Fishing Club.
Wendt’s On The Lake staff said they’re ready for sturgeon spearing to begin. Outside their restaurant, they have a rack of hooks ready for people to display their sturgeon. Inside, they have sweatshirts for sale with sturgeon logos and sturgeon-shaped earrings.
They also have sturgeon decorations throughout the restaurant as well as framed pictures of big catches from previous years. Wendt said that economically sturgeon spearing season is very important for restaurants in the area.
“It brings a lot of people to the community all around the lake, our place will be full Saturday and Sunday,” Wendt said.
Last year, warm weather and bad ice conditions prevented many people from getting out on the ice during the sturgeon spearing season. This year, local ice experts said that the outlook is better.
“The ice conditions are certainly better than they were last year,” said Darryl Lehman who is the president of the Paynes Point Hook & Spear club. “We’re seeing about 16-18 inches of ice in most places that we travel.”
Sixteen to eighteen inches is enough ice for vehicles to travel on the ice. However, local ice experts said that the ice isn’t that thick everywhere on the lake.
Viewer video shared with Local 5 News shows open water and slushy areas on the lake. A local source told Local 5 News that Lake Poygan still has a large pool of water in the middle of it as well.
“Obviously certain areas on this lake that are usually bad are bad again this year,” said Lehman. “Areas by islands, rocky shallow areas.”
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“With the shallow areas around the islands and stuff we have a lot of open water and open holes we don’t want anybody going out there (by these areas),” said Wendt.
Don Herman, who is the owner of Sunk? Dive and Ice Service, said that the northern part of Lake Winnebago is in better shape than the southern part in terms of ice conditions. Wendt and Lehman said that water clarity leaves a lot to be desired in many areas of the lake right now.
As Sturgeon spearers begin dragging their shanties out onto the lake in anticipation for the beginning of the sturgeon spearing season on Saturday, local ice experts offered several pieces of advice to stay safe.
“I guess my biggest piece of advice would be to just pay attention,” Lehman said. “Don’t be on your phone, look at the ice in front of you.”
Local ice experts said if you don’t have experience navigating Lake Winnebago then it’s probably smart to avoid going out there at night or if it’s really foggy outside.
Many of the local fishing clubs mark off dangerous areas or open water with Christmas trees to warn motorists out on the lake. The local fishing clubs frequently provide updates to ice conditions on their Facebook pages.
Ice is never 100 percent safe no matter how low the temperatures drop here in Northeast Wisconsin.
