81 inch sturgeon shot illegally

LAKE WINNEBAGO - It's not in season, but someone shot and killed a nearly 7-foot-long sturgeon. The fish was found dead across the lake from Richard Braasch's home. He says the discovery brings mixed emotions. He would have loved to spear the sturgeon, but respects it too.

"It's a shame really to lose a fish like that, but like I say I don't know what we can do now," he said.

Braasch is upset because the 81.5 inch female sturgeon was shot out of season, no ice in sight.

The fish was found Saturday on the southeast shore of Lake Winnebago. The DNR says it had been shot with an arrow and had likely been dead one week.

The DNR believes the arrow caused severe internal injury, but fisheries staff say the fish didn't die right away. They believe the sturgeon died a slow death from internal poisoning. Its body cavity was filled with infection.

"Here's a fish that's been in the system for 70-100 years and this is what we work for to get fish to this level," President of Sturgeon for Tomorrow Dave Vogds said. "You just hate to see this fish being lost on something stupid."

During spawning in 2004, the DNR surgically tagged the sturgeon. Sutures from that surgery were found in the fish at its death. The department doesn't know yet if it was killed by accident or intentionally.

"It was probably a mistake, it could have been a mistake by somebody," Braasch said.

He says it's common for carp fishers to go out at night with bows. He says one of them could have shot the fish and never knew it. But if the act was intentional, Braasch says the sturgeon community will move from disappointed to appalled.

"They should get the book thrown at them as far as I'm concerned," Vogds said. "As a sportsman I like to think I do things the right way and when you see this type of stuff, you just hate to see it."

The DNR is looking into the matter, but the fisheries staff say even if the act was intentional it would be nearly impossible to prove.