Richard Westenberger braved the frigid February temperatures to spear this beautiful F1 female from Lake Winnebago, weighing 126.4 pounds and measuring 75.9 inches.

Feb. 17, 2025 Harvest Update

With a high of 4⁰F and 18 mph winds in Oshkosh, it was a cold day to go spearing. Yet, the drive and tradition continue to call to many spearers who braved the cold. This includes Richard Westenberger, who successfully speared a 126.4-pound, 75.9-inch, F1 female today on Lake Winnebago. He was one of 21 spearers who were successful in harvesting a lake sturgeon (5 juvenile females, 11 adult females and 5 males). This brings the Lake Winnebago totals to 63 juvenile females, 172 adult females and 147 males. 

The Upriver Lakes had their slowest day of the season with only 3 fish being harvested, which all came from the Poygan registration station. All were males. This brings the male total to 199 for the Upriver Lakes. 

View the full details in today’s harvest report.

The bitterly cold weather continues tomorrow. To all who are taking to the ice, please be safe and remember to practice good ice safety. 

Please note, due to effort, we will also be closing the Winneconne and North Winnebago registration stations. For spearers on the Upriver Lakes, the Poygan registration is your next closest station. For those spearing on the northern part of Lake Winnebago, either the Stockbridge or Neenah registration stations are likely your next closest. The Pipe registration station will also remain closed tomorrow. Quinney is your next closest registration station. Please make sure to adjust accordingly. Thank you.

The lake sturgeon transfer seen here is only possible with the help of the operations crew driving the stocking trucks.

It Takes A Village: Oshkosh Operations Staff

The Winnebago Sturgeon Program works hard to manage the lake sturgeon population within the system. However, accomplishing this goal requires much effort to collect crucial information and conduct various management actions throughout the year. The sturgeon program relies on fisheries staff throughout eastern Wisconsin, some of whom you might meet while registering your sturgeon during the spearing season or at the spawning sites. These staff members play a crucial role in the Winnebago Sturgeon Program and work on a wide array of projects to help maintain a healthy ecosystem within the Winnebago system and northeast Wisconsin for all fish species. 

The first office we would like to introduce is the Asylum Bay Fisheries Operations out of Oshkosh. It is led by Supervisor Bob Hoodie and includes Advance Technicians Tom Schlavensky, Ryan Zernzach and Kyle Olson. Together, they have decades of fisheries knowledge. 

While this skilled team regularly helps with field sampling, it takes more than counting fish to make a fisheries program successful. Fisheries staff utilize a lot of specialized equipment to complete surveys and other management activities, and this team keeps it all working.  This crew manages not just the boats and nets, but also the electrofishing equipment, registration shacks, stocking tanks and trucks and habitat equipment. These require specialized maintenance and repair to keep surveys running smoothly and safely. This office is also the first to help brainstorm new sampling methods and suggest new equipment and data collection techniques. The staff has helped create and maintain much of the equipment the sturgeon program relies on throughout the year.

Fortunately, the Winnebago System is largely supported by natural reproduction fueled by quality habitat. However, many other water bodies rely on stocking to increase fish populations and supplement natural recruitment. The Wisconsin DNR has hatcheries and staff across the state to meet these critical stocking needs. Still, all these fish must get from the hatchery to the different waterbodies. Thus, you might have also spotted the Asylum Bay team out on the road in one of their fish-stocking trucks. The Operations team is responsible for stocking many of the fish raised at the different hatcheries around Wisconsin. 

The help, guidance and equipment maintenance these staff members provide are among the many reasons our fisheries programs, including the sturgeon program, are as successful as they are. When out and about this spearing season, if you see one of our crew from the operations staff, do not forget to say hello. 

In future editions, we will introduce you to some of the other staff members who make the sturgeon program successful and maintain and advance the other fisheries within their area. 

The operations staff assisting with the electrofishing for lake sturgeon on the Winnebago System.

No Ice Is 100% Safe

If using UTVs on the ice, here are a few basic safety tips to remember:

• Remember UTVs are heavy. They are the heaviest recreational vehicle out on the ice, often being close to 3,000 pounds. This is similar to a car or truck.
• Have a plan in case you do go through the ice.
• Roll your window down when traveling on the ice and make sure you can easily open your door – drive slow and turn the radio down so that you can use eyes and ears to watch and hear for potential issues coming up.
• Make sure you have life jackets or some other type of floatation for every occupant of the UTV.
• Recovery for the UTV or other vehicle is the responsibility of the owner/operator. After 30 days, the owner can be fined each day after 30 days.
• Recovery rates for the machine can also be very expensive.
• This may not be the year to explore new locations – stick to known areas that typically have better ice conditions.
• Never consume alcohol or drugs before or during your ride.
• Carry a cell phone, and let people know where you are going and when you’ll return home.
• Watch for pressure ridges or ice buckling. These can be dangerous due to thin ice and open water.

Remember – the DNR does not monitor ice conditions. Local fishing clubs, outfitters and bait shops are the best sources for local current ice conditions.  

Check out the DNR’s Ice Safety webpage for more information on staying safe on the ice, including tips for creating ice claws and what to do if you fall through ice.

Additional information on the Winnebago System sturgeon spearing season can be found on the DNR website.