DNR Sturgeon Season Report Final Day

RIPON, Wis (WRPN)- Sixteen lake sturgeon were speared during the final day of the Lake Winnebago System 2026 Sturgeon Spearing season.

That brought the entire system to 202 juvenile females, 670 adult females and 668 males for a grand total of 1,540 lake sturgeon for the season. There were 1,261 lake sturgeon harvested from Lake Winnebago and 279 lake sturgeon from the Upriver Lakes.

The Stockbridge registration station registered the most with 357 for the season. Despite the volume of fish registered at Stockbridge, most of the big fish for the year came from the Downtown Oshkosh registration station with a total of 11 lake sturgeon registered over 100 pounds. The biggest fish taken Monday was registered at the Quinney registration station by Bennett Glidden. It was a 104.6 pound female.

The last time the Winnebago system closed early was in 2015, when the season lasted 8 days. During that year, daily harvest during the week was still relatively high with over 100 fish speared each day. The 2026 season lasted 10 days.

Photo credit: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. With the last 100-pound fish of the season, Bennett Glidden speared this nice 104.6-pound female.