With the sun shining and some of the warmest weather of the season, the lake sturgeon were likely moving around the system. Today, 81 lake sturgeon were harvested throughout the Winnebago system. Spearers definitely took to Lake Winnebago.

The season's second to last day saw 81 sturgeon speared between Lake Winnebago and the Upriver Lakes systems. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources reports that of the 73 speared on Lake Winnebago, 10 were juvenile females, 32 were adult females, and 31 were males.

As of Feb. 16, the Lake Winnebago system has seen 640 successful spearers so far, with Upriver Lakes getting closer to its harvest cap.

The Payne’s Point Bar & Grill registration station in Neenah processed the most sturgeon of the day for Lake Winnebago with 25 fish, followed by the Downtown Oshkosh station with 21. The Poygan station led the way for the Upriver Lakes with 53 sturgeon registered.

We are only 3 days away from the end of the Winnebago spearing season, and there are some spearers who have not given up. Twenty-seven lake sturgeon were harvested throughout the system today (4 juvenile females, 12 adult females and 11 males).

McParlane says despite poor water clarity below the frozen surface, conditions on the ice may be the reason why it's been busy here.