Gawkers gather for splashing sturgeon

SHIOCTON - The annual mating ritual has become an intriguing tradition at Bamboo Bend near Shiocton.

P.J. Mayer has never missed a sturgeon spawn with his dad. At four-years-old, he is pretty much an expert.

"They're having babies," he explained matter-of-factly.

"It's awesome, you get so close to them," said P.J.'s father, Pete Mayer of Neenah, who used to spear for sturgeon. "If you get down here during the spawn you know you're going to see one, as opposed to staring down a hole for eight hours."

The DNR says in any given spring about 20,000 sturgeon from the Lake Winnebago system come in to spawn. That is just about half of the adult sturgeon population.

The average female sturgeon lays more than 400,000 eggs. Of that, only about eight will become fish.