Wisconsin Sturgeon Season Opens by Gary A. Engberg September 4, 2010
gengberg August 31st, 2010
Wisconsin’s Sturgeon Season by Gary A. Engberg It’s almost that time of year for the hook and line fishing season to open in Wisconsin. This year the season opens September 4th and stays open thru September 30. The lake sturgeon made its first appearance about the time that the dinosaurs ceased to exist. The lake sturgeon is a giant among fresh water fishes and a living fossil making its first appearance in the Upper Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic era.
But, by the middle of the 19th century the lake sturgeon was considered a nuisance by commercial fishermen. There was a great demand for this delicious flesh, either fresh or smoked and the value of the roe or caviar caused over-harvesting. The lake sturgeon never really recovered from the intensive fishing that has caused this fish to be extremely rare and protected in highly managed fishing areas. Wisconsin is lucky enough to have a good, naturally reproducing lake sturgeon population in several of its river systems. Wisconsin rivers that have a hook and line season include the Chippewa River, the Menominee River, the Flambeau River, the Jump River, the Yellow River, and the Wisconsin River from the Wisconsin Dells downstream. 
This includes the waters of Lake Wisconsin.
Lake Sturgeon lives longer and grows larger than any other fresh water fish in the state. Female sturgeon lives much longer than males with 97% of all sturgeon over 30 years old being females. A female sturgeon doesn’t reach sexual maturity till they are 25 years old and about 55 inches long. Then, they spawn once every 5 or 6 years. Males are sexually mature at about 15 years old when they are about 45 inches long. In the beginning, lake sturgeon grow more rapidly in length than in weight, but this pattern changes as the fish ages. Growth can depend on several factors with the most important ones being the available food and the water temperature.
Anglers could harvest one legal sized fish per season in Wisconsin. A rule change was instituted in 2000 that called for alternating year minimum lengths of 50″ and 70″, 50″ in odd years and 70″ in even years. One of the DNR’s fishery biologists, Tim Larson, says” the reason for the rule was to reduce harvest, yet still allow anglers the opportunity to fish for sturgeon.” Larson added, “The first two years of 50″ (2000) and 70″ (2001) found an annual average harvest reduction of 30% compared to the 1996-1999 (50″ size limit) average. So it achieved its purpose here on the Wisconsin River and Lake Wisconsin.” The alternating year size limit was also in effect on the Menominee River in northeastern Wisconsin. All other Wisconsin waters open for hook and line sturgeon fishing at this time, kept the 50″ minimum size limit, annually.
But, the alternating size from year to year became too confusing, so the DNR changed the minimum sturgeon length to 60 inches every year. This rule change has allowed anglers to fish for the lake sturgeon and also lower the harvest numbers of this precious fish.
To legally fish for lake sturgeon in Wisconsin, you need a valid Wisconsin fishing license and a valid sturgeon tag. Sturgeon tags which used to free are now $20.00 for residents and $50.00 for non-residents. They can be obtained at any license outlet center or on the Internet at
www.fishingwisconsin.org or at dnr.wi.gov.
