February 21, 2021 – Fond du Lac, Wi – We’re now through the eighth day of the Winnebago System sturgeon spearing season for 2021. Today, 156 fish were harvested on the Winnebago System, with Lake Winnebago totaling 139 fish and 17 on the Upriver Lakes.
Click here for today’s full harvest report.
The Lake Winnebago daily harvest today was the highest daily harvest since day 2. Today’s increase was likely due to the weekend bringing more spearing effort around the lake.
The Stockbridge Harbor station registered 33 fish, the most on Lake Winnebago today, narrowly outnumbering the Calumet Harbor station, which saw 29, as the northern registration stations continue to lead the way in total fish registered this season. After today’s harvest, the Lake Winnebago totals have increased to 176 juvenile females, 503 adult females, and 423 males.
As of this afternoon, the Upriver Lakes season has officially closed. Overall, 364 fish were harvested this year on the Upriver Lakes, consisting of 42 juvenile females, 77 adult females, and 245 males.
Today’s Upriver Lakes harvest was similar to yesterday, with no juvenile females, 2 adult females, and 15 males entering the registration stations. The largest fish registered this season on the Upriver Lakes was the 154.5 pound (78.2 inches) F4 female speared by Steven Lenz. This incredible fish was one of three fish weighing over 150 pounds harvested on the Upriver Lakes alone in 2021.
This year’s Upriver Lakes total harvest was the highest since 2007 and primarily driven by excellent water clarity and good ice conditions. Congratulations to all those who successfully harvested a sturgeon during the 2021 Upriver Lakes sturgeon spearing season.
The harvest across the entire Winnebago System has increased to 218 juvenile females, 580 adult females, and 668 males for a total of 1,466 fish. With today’s harvest, system-wide caps have reached 51% for juvenile females, 61% for adult females, and 56% for males. We anticipate that the season may last at least into Thursday or Friday but could go the entire 16 days.
William Escribano harvested the largest fish of the day, weighing in at 137.8 pounds (79.3 inches). William’s fish was an F2 female harvested on Lake Winnebago and was registered at Grundman Lane. An additional seven fish weighing over 100 pounds were speared today, bringing the season total to 63 fish harvested weighing over 100 pounds.