WINNECONNE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – As the Saturday sturgeon spearing season opener approaches, those who harvest a prehistoric fish will once again experience drive-thru registration.
At the Grundman Lane Landing on Lake Winnebago, crews were busy putting the finishing touches on the portable shanty there. For the second straight year, the drive-thru is the only way to go.
“It will be the same alternate locations as the 2021 season. We’re going to have the contactless drive-thru again this season, just to make sure everybody is safe through the process. It’s basically just because we’re seeing the COVID-19 pandemic still going on,” said Aaron O’Connell, DNR Senior Fisheries biologist.
O’Connell tells FOX 11 nine stations are set up around the Lake Winnebago System. Fishery staff take the sturgeon from the vehicle, record the weight, length, and sex of the fish, before returning it to the spearer.
“They will have plenty of signs and cones out at registration stations, so that the successful spearers will be able to follow the process easily.”
Some locations include boat landings and other public places, like Marble Park in Winneconne. The site is a couple blocks from Critters Wolf River Sports.
“Sturgeon spearing, to some, is like opening day for deer hunting. It’s an exciting time,” said Chris Boucher, Critters Wolf River Sports owner.
But Boucher says he acknowledges pandemic protocols.
“With COVID sticking around, I can understand the reasoning for the DNR taking the precaution to not have the weigh-in station here.”
But some others disagree. They say the Critters parking lot is typically a very busy place during the sturgeon season.
“For me, being a spearer myself, I think that you wait how many years to get a fish. Some guys wait 20 years. Doing a drive-thru beats the purpose how excited you are. You want to show your fish off,” said Cessy Clark, Winneconne.
“I’d like to think that we’re going to go back to weigh-in stations in public areas, so people can celebrate it,” said Boucher.
“I sure hope so, I hope next year, we’ll be able to see everybody’s fish and stand out there and hoot and holler for them,” said Clark.
The DNR says future station locations are up in the air.
“And that’s something that we hope to get back to. That’s something we’ll be looking at year-by-year at this point,” said O’Connell.
