How about luck for the final day. Scott Sheppard (left; 126.6-pound, 73-inch, F2 female) and Mason Winkler (right; 64.6-pound, 62.7-inch, F1 female) speared both fish from the same hole within an hour of each other. Now that is the way to end a season.

Feb. 23, 2025 Harvest Update

The 2025 Winnebago System sturgeon spearing season is now closed.

On Lake Winnebago, 7 juvenile females, 16 adult females and 24 males were harvested today. Scott Sheppard speared the last largest fish, a 126.6-pound, 73-inch, F2 female.

On the Upriver Lakes, 2 juvenile females, 1 adult females and 8 males were harvested today.

Although no harvest caps were reached for the Winnebago System this year, 142 juvenile females, 322 adult females and 479 males were harvested, and the 90-99% harvest trigger was met for the Upriver Lakes today on the final day.

For the season, there were 280 juvenile females, 717 adult females and 1,002 males harvested from Lake Winnebago, and 47 juvenile females, 49 adult females and 230 males harvested on the Upriver Lakes. This makes a total of 943 fish for the system, more than twice what was harvested last year. While water clarity was difficult, many were able to persevere.

Impressively, another 2 fish were harvested over 100 pounds, bringing the total to 63 for the season, or just about 6% of the total harvest. That is incredible.

View the full harvest report.

Thank you, spearers, for helping to make this season a success. We hope you made memories this season that will last a lifetime.

Learn more about sturgeon in Wisconsin and the spearing season on the DNR website.