http://my.hsj.org http://my.hsj.org en-us Copyright 2008 - All Rights Reserved. Sat, 18 May 2013 22:02:04 GMT 15 By Madalyn Salm
Not even cold temperatures can stop a Wisconsin tradition from taking place. With an average of 16 to 19 inches of ice covering Lake Winnebago, the 2010 Sturgeon Spearing season took place the second weekend in February. Sturgeon spearer Alex Patenaude commented on this year’s season saying, "I didn’t have much luck this year, but my dad did. He speared a 53 lb., 58 in. sturgeon. Hopefully I have better luck next year." Sturgeon spearing, a tradition that has been around the state of Wisconsin for many years, draws in at least 10,000 licensed sturgeon spearers each year. This year marked the 78th annual Lake Winnebago Sturgeon Spearing Season. Over the last decade, the number of sturgeon speared has increased significantly, along with the population of sturgeon in the lake. Each year, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) sets a cap in telling how many sturgeons will be allowed to be speared in the lake. The 2010 sturgeon spearing caps were set at the following limits: juvenile females: 280, adult females: 666, males: 800, total sturgeon: 1,746. Although the lake’s waters are completely frozen over, there were still many soft spots of ice in which any shanty or vehicle could have fallen through. When asked how she felt about the ice this year, Katie Leitner answered, "Well, I felt pretty safe since there was about twenty inches below us. The ice was black which made it really nice and clear for spearing." Sturgeon spearers were advised to make sure they had a positive idea of how much ice was below their shanty and where they were traveling on the lake. Fishing clubs and harbors had marked safe roads on the lake by setting upright Christmas trees into the ice that marked every ¼ mile as well as safe ice. The trees that were lying down marked bad ice or unsafe soft spots. Bridges and ramps were also placed over the expanding cracks to assure safety to spearers. This year’s season was an overall success, and congratulations to those who had luck. ]]> Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:07:08 GMT