Green Bay Reporter

Sturgeon Spearing 2022 is underway in Wisconsin with 12,693 license holders expected to brace the cold to fish.

The season began Feb. 12 and experts say it's the biggest harvest on Lake Winnebago since 2015, according to Fox 11 Online.

"The most recent population estimates are just over 41,000 adults, which is really good," DNR Senior Fisheries biologist, Aaron O'Connell said, according to Fox 11 Online. "The Winnebago System has of the largest Lake Sturgeon populations in the world, and folks should be excited again this year. A lot of sturgeon out there."

The lake is only about 20 feet deep, so water clarity is key to spearing success, according to Fox 11 Online.

The prehistoric fish are opportunistic bottom-feeders, according to Fox 11 Online. 

"We found the average water clarity around 10.7 feet, just under 11 feet, which is below that 12-foot threshold that we usually see a shortened season, if it's over 12 feet," O'Connell said, according to Fox 11 Online. "So we are expecting a lower harvest this year, and potentially a longer season."

Early indications are leading toward a long season, according to Fox 11 Online.

Heavy winds, open water and light snow covering the lake could have the potential for algae blooms and lower than normal water clarity, Fox 11 Online reports.

O'Connell said that gizzard fish should provide season fishers with a fatty food supply, according to Fox 11 Online.

"Typically when we see those plumper fish, it's coming off a gizzard shad hatch, and we haven't had a measurable gizzard shat hatch in the 2016 season," O'Connell said, according to Fox 11 Online.

Fox 11 Online reports that there are drive-thru registrations around the lakes provided by the Department of Natural Resources. When registering your sturgeon, the DNR records the weight, length and sex of the fish before returning it back to the catcher.