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With the last 100-pound fish of the season, Bennett Glidden speared this nice 104.6-pound female.
Feb. 23, 2026 Harvest Update
This was the final day for the Winnebago system spearing season of 2026. This has been quite a season to remember. On this final day there were 16 lake sturgeon harvested (0 juvenile females, 9 adult females and 7 males). That brings the entire system to 202 juvenile females, 670 adult females and 668 males for a grand total of 1,540 lake sturgeon for the 2026 season.
There were 1,261 lake sturgeon harvested from Lake Winnebago and 279 lake sturgeon from the Upriver Lakes.
After that incredible opening day registering 148 lake sturgeon, the Stockbridge registration station just couldn’t be beat and ended up registering an impressive 357 for the season.
Despite the volume of fish registered at Stockbridge, most of the big fish for the year came from the Downtown Oshkosh registration station with a total of 11 lake sturgeon registered over 100 pounds.
Today’s biggest fish, however, was registered at the Quinney registration station by Bennett Glidden. What an incredible fish to end the season with, a 104.6-pound female!
Click here to view the full Day 10 Harvest Report online.
This is the first year that spearers have not only had great ice conditions opening weekend, but also good access and stellar water clarity. All of these components are probably what facilitated the best opening weekend in over a decade. On Lake Winnebago there were 779 lake sturgeon harvested and 250 from the Upriver lakes (1,029 total) opening weekend alone.
Even with the incredible opening weekend, the season still lasted past the halfway point to 10 days. Unfortunately, the warm weather and rain during the week slowed down harvest significantly. Still, even with these conditions, spearers were able to find success.
After the previous two years of harvest levels below 500 lake sturgeon, it is good to have a year where many spearers were able to find success.
The last time the Winnebago system closed early was in 2015, when the season lasted 8 days. During that year, daily harvest during the week was still relatively high with over 100 fish speared each day.
This year, a total of 54 lake sturgeon over 100 pounds were speared, with 43 of them coming from Lake Winnebago. About 3.5% of this year’s harvest was over 100 pounds. The biggest was the 148.1-pound female speared opening weekend of the Upriver Lakes.
We hope that many spearers were able to get out and enjoy this spearing season. After the last few years of poor ice conditions or tough water clarity, we were happy to see so many out enjoying the season.
Thank you to everyone for making this season memorable and we can’t wait to see everyone else next year!
 Talk about an incredible 11th hour fish on this last day for Rick Bernades with a 72.5 -nch, 95.2-pound female.
No Ice Is 100% Safe
Before heading out on a frozen waterbody, it's crucial to prepare and plan. Here are a few safety tips to remember:
- 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 your eyes and ears to watch and listen for potential hazards.
- Recovery for a UTV or another vehicle is the responsibility of the owner/operator. After 30 days, the owner can be fined each day after 30 days.
- 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.
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