Upriver spearers successful again

WINNECONNE - The upriver lakes were the place to be on Day 1 of the sturgeon spearing season with 140 fish being harvested and the results were just as impressive on day 2.

There's a palpable excitement in the air whenever a sturgeon is registered at a station. Occasionally when you cut into the belly of a big fish, there's an added surprise, black eggs, which means the fish would have laid them in the spring. The harvesting of this fish allows the DNR a chance to better understand the sturgeon.

Steve Fajfer a hatchery supervisor for the DNR explained why the eggs are important.

"They're trying to figure out the survival of the eggs to larval and juveniles to adults and a big part of the study is determining how many eggs an individual female will deposit in the spring."

Burton Willis speared the 111 pound sturgeon, which 40 pounds of which was egg. He was happy to help the DNR.

"I like Sturgeon spearing and if that helps keep the population going if that helps them, that's great," Willis said.

There was a steady flow of sturgeon at the check in table Sunday morning so it's no surprise you have to win the lottery just to get the license to spear on the Upriver Lakes.

Bill Curtis happily traded his usual spot for the chance to go on the Upriver Lakes. "It's really great. It's a privilege,” Curtis said. “It's so few and far between years you can actually get out here. I'm usually on Winnebago and watching a black hole so it's a little different."

For Jamie Brenner, there was a sense of excitement and relief as he became the 4th member of his family to harvest a sturgeon this season.

“Unbelievable,” is how Brenner described the feeling of spearing a fish. “We got them all out of my brother's shanty. It's kind of long and quiet and just an adrenaline rush when the fish comes through the hole.”

Since the harvest cap system came into place in 1999, it's taken no more than 10 days to reach the trigger number, but that success rate doesn't make harvesting one of these behemoths any less special.

Fjafer added, “I'm happy for any spearer that got a fish. To sit out there and actually be able to harvest one of these trophies they really are.”