Sturgeon Spearing Season Starts Big

Primary Wisconsin DNR reports coming out of Winnebago and Oshkosh are in. The third and fifth largest sturgeons have been added to the record books, which were started in 1941. Weighing 185 and 172.7 pounds respectively, these two female record fish are among seven sturgeon that have been added to the books in the last three years. A list of the top ten fish can be seen here.

Overall, 881 fish were caught during the first three days of the season. Out of those fish, 52 weighed over 100 pounds. Big fish are being caught because of DNR regulations that went into effect to protect the larger fish and increase their presence in WI lakes. The total maximum number of days the season could stay open is 16, and official are saying this is very likely. The final day of the open season will then be this Sunday, February 27th at 12:30pm. Read the full DNR release for more information.

Photo from the WDNR news release.

That's One Big Fish!

In Winnebago, February 12th will bring the first day of a new season of sturgeon spearing. Since the fish population has increased, the DNR has been able to raise the catch limit this season and it is expected to break even last year's hearty records. One record catch last season was a 212 pound sturgeon speared by a Wisconsinite. The DNR is confident that the sturgeon management system they have in place helps to pro-actively involve the public while increasing the sturgeon population and fishing opportunities.

For further reading on fish and fishing in general, see our recommended reading list. We have also recently added to our ice fishing reading list. For fish identification, try our section of field guides on Great Lakes fish.

Photo credit: WDNR by Rachel Piacenza

'Tis the Season for Fishy Gifts

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, it's time to start thinking about presents! The UW Aquatic Sciences Center (ASC) Publications Store might have just what you need for that special fishy someone in your life.

The Great Lakes Fishes poster (shown right) pictures and identifies 35 varieties of fish you may encounter in the Great Lakes. What kid (or grownup) fisherman wouldn't want to have this on his wall?

For the all weather fishermen, the free "Ice Fishing" booklet is available by mail or as a downloadable pdf. "This guide to successful winter ice fishing includes: fishing gear and gadgets, tips on how to catch bluegill, yellow perch, northern pike and walleye, safety advice for thin ice and how to stay on top of the ice, clothing advice and Wisconsin regulations."

For the fish lover who does not partake in fishing, “People of the Sturgeon: Wisconsin’s Love Affair With an Ancient Fish,” a coffee-table book, is a beautiful addition to any collection. This 320 page award winner contains images, stories and interviews about lake sturgeon and their connection to Wisconsin's history and culture.


For further details on these and other available treats, see the ASC press release. For the non-givers, Wisconsin's Water Library provides reading lists on related topics including: Ice Fishing, Fish and Fishing in Wisconsin and Cooking.

Lake Sturgeon - on a hook and a line

The lake sturgeon hook and line season opens September 4th and runs through September 30th. High water levels in state rivers should make this one interesting.

The 2010 season marks the fourth year that the minimum length for harvesting sturgeon is set at 60 inches, with a one-fish limit per season. There is a catch and release season on a stretch of the Menominee River downstream from the Hattie Street dam to Green Bay.

New this year is a catch and release season on the lower St. Croix River from St. Croix Falls Dam downstream to the Mississippi River from Oct. 1 through Oct. 15 to allow Wisconsin and Minnesota to have the same regulations for the same species. This is not reflected in the Fishing Regulations 2010-2011.

Remember to follow all required fishing regulations and bring your bug spray!

About the Hook and Line Season

News release from WDNR.

photo used by permission from the Shedd Aquarium, Chicago

Lake Sturgeon Have Genes from Parasite, Signs of Human STD

From Science Daily:

(May 12, 2010) — While trying to find a DNA-based test to determine the sex of lake sturgeon, Purdue University researchers found that the sturgeon genome contains trematode genes that didn't originally belong to it and may harbor a protozoan parasite that causes a sexually transmitted disease in humans.

Genetics professor Andrew DeWoody and postdoctoral associate Matthew C. Hale found the parasite and pathogen genes while analyzing DNA from the gonads of lake sturgeon, a species that is on the decline because of overfishing and pollution of its habitats. The only way to determine a lake sturgeon's sex currently is to examine its internal sexual organs.

DeWoody said about 15 genes found in the lake sturgeon came from Schistosoma, a parasitic worm. Lateral gene transfer from one organism to another is rare, especially in multicellular animals, he said, but could be part of some evolutionary process for the sturgeon.

"Organisms may accept some new genes from other species because the new genes can serve as raw material for evolution," said DeWoody, whose findings were reported in the early online version of the journal Genetica. "The genome may be more fluid than we usually think."

Read more.

For Winnebago Sturgeon Enthusiasts...

The 2010 sturgeon spawning run has begun on the Wolf River. A handful of females have been spawning with their harems of males along the Wolf River Trail on County Highway X west of New London for a few days now, but the remaining 3000 or so females in the river that need to spawn yet have been waiting for the water temperatures to get a little higher. The wait appears to be over as a large number of fish moved into the Bamboo Bend spawning site on Highway 54 west of Shiocton last night and are vigorously spawning this morning. I suspected this to be the case when I heard the high flocks Canadian geese migrating north at 6:00 AM this morning. Every spring when we first see the high large V-flocks of Canadian geese heading north (not the low local flocks), we know we will be working spawning sturgeon that day. Given the weather forecast this week calling for high temperatures for most days (except tomorrow) in the 60s and possibly low 70s, we expect the majority of sturgeon in the Wolf River to spawn sometime this week.

Sturgeon spawn each spring at approximately 20 or more sites (out of about 60 known sites) on the Wolf, Little Wolf, and Embarrass Rivers. Once fish start spawning at a particular site, the activity lasts there about 3 or 4 days, with usually 2 days of peak activity at that site. Most of the nearly 60 different spawning sites on the Wolf River and tributaries are man-made, with only about 10 natural sites. The man-made sites are typically rip rapped areas on outside bends adjacent to deep water that people rocked to protect their river banks from erosion. Although erosion is a natural event on rivers, most of the erosion today is caused by boat wakes crashing into soft shorelines, which causes erosion rates to be much higher than normal. The best spawning site on the river is a natural site below Shawano Dam, which has always attracted large number spawning sturgeon, even before the dam was built in 1892. Thousands of fish spawn at this site every year. In many years we also will see a "second run" at several of the main sites, typically a small number of females that need higher a temperature to induce their ovulation, that spawn about a week or two after the main spawning event.

That's it for now........more later this week.
Ronald M. Bruch, PhD
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Sturgeon book wins award!

It was just announced that PEOPLE OF THE STURGEON: WISCONSIN'S LOVE AFFAIR WITH AN ANCIENT FISH has been awarded the 2009 Ellis/Henderson Outdoor Writing Award from the Council for Wisconsin Writers.

More details to follow on their Web site but for now congratulation to Kathleen Schmitt Kline, Fred Binkowski and Ron Bruch on this wonderful honor.

To find out how to purchase your own copy of the book, please visit the ASC pubs store.

For Winnebago Sturgeon Enthusiasts...

This weekend is the launch of Sturgeon spearing season. Ron Bruch, sturgeon specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources sends this update:

Lake Conditions: Many spearers are out on the lakes scouting and reports are coming in that the cloudy water is spreading further south along the west shore of Lake Winnebago. The rest of Lake Winnebago appears to be clear yet. No new information on water clarity in the Upriver Lakes other than the report last week that said Poygan was starting to cloud up in some areas (patchy) south and west of the mouth of the Wolf River. Ice conditions are generally good, but the recent snow and wind have caused some drifting which may have covered up cracks and other dangerous spots. As always, be careful and check the ice where you are traveling, especially if you are traveling off the marked roads.

Sturgeon on the Move: A spearer scouting on Lake Winnebago caught some fantastic footage on his camera. Check out the following piece: YouTube - sturgeon on the move

Sturgeon Registration: We're pretty well done setting up all of our registration stations and are ready to go. Remember when you get your fish, you need to have it in to a station no later than 1:30 PM. Spearing hours are 6:30 AM to 12:30 PM. Bring your fish in right away if you can after you get it to avoid getting stuck in a long line, especially on opening day. At the station we'll be collecting our standard data on the fish and the spearer, although we may ask some spearers if we can dress their fish so we can take stomach and/or tissue samples for other various studies we are involved in. We appreciate your cooperation.

Daily Reports: This will be my last pre-season report. Stay tuned on opening day and every day of the season for my daily reports which I should be e-mailing out each day between 2:30 PM and 4:30 PM (time dependent on whether we get a run of fish at then end of the day or not). If you have any fellow spearers that would like to get on my e-mail list to receive the reports, have them e-mail me and ask to get on the list.
Good luck to you all.

See you around the lakes or at a registration station.

Ron

Ronald M. Bruch, PhD
Upper Fox-Wolf Fisheries Work Unit Supervisor
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
625 E County Rd Y, Suite 700
Oshkosh, WI 54901

Sturgeon's reintroduction at White Earth

The Water Library recently attended a keynote address by Winona LaDuke, an Anishinaabe activist from Minnesota's White Earth Ojibwe Reservation. In town for the Nelson Institute's Tales from Planet Earth Environmental Film Festival, her talk often focused on water.

Sturgeon, especially. Even a "Sturgeon General."

The White Earth band, located in northwestern Minnesota, has been restocking its waterways with the ancient fish for nearly a decade. With assistance from the Rainy River First Nations' hatchery in Canada, and their "Sturgeon General," Joe Hunter, the program has become increasingly successful. White Earth and Round Lakes are stocked with thousands of fry every year. Sturgeon are swimming again where they haven't been seen in decades.

And White Earth isn't alone. Efforts at resuscitating lost sturgeon populations are occurring throughout the Upper Midwest.

To learn more about White Earth's sturgeon program, read LaDuke's book Recovering the sacred: The power of naming and claiming. Cambridge, MA: South End Press

Or, check out the Water Libary's related reading lists:

Native Americans and the Environment
More about sturgeon

'People of the Sturgeon' book launch this Sunday

This Sunday, September 20th will mark the official launch of the new book, PEOPLE OF THE STURGEON, WISCONSIN'S LOVE AFFAIR WITH AN ANCIENT FISH. The event will begin at 4pm and will feature Sea Grant's very own Kathleen Schmitt Kline and Fred Binkowski, along with Ron Bruch from the Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources. The coauthors will detail a few of the book’s topics in their presentation and recollect some of their personal favorite tales. Following the presentation, the authors will open the discussion and sign copies of the book.

If you are unable to attend the event on Sunday, you can order the book today, already signed by the coauthors. Visit the ASC Pubs store.

People of the Sturgeon: Wisconsin's Love Affair with an Ancient Fish

People of the Sturgeon is now available! The Aquatic Sciences Center (ASC)'s Kathleen Kline is co-author, along with UW Sea Grant specialist Fred Binkowski and Wisconsin DNR's Fred Bruch. Purchase your copy today!

Now available at ASC's publications store.

In the News: DNR's sturgeon expert Ron Bruch honored

Year after year, Bruch counts the prehistoric fish as they course through the Lake Winnebago system of lakes and rivers.

Each spring, he wades into the Wolf and Embarrass rivers to look for and tag those fish that survived yet another spearing season.

Bruch has even shared top billing with the large fish in a movie about the Great Lakes and eight years ago brought sturgeon experts from around the world to Wisconsin to tour the sturgeon's breeding grounds.So it's no surprise the Wisconsin Conservation Congress recently named Bruch the state Department of Natural Resources' fishery manager of the year.

"I've been around for 55 years and every fisheries manager we've had has been good, but Ron is exceptional. He listens to the people and works with us," said Dick Koerner of Neenah, an official of the conservation group and part of the DNR's sturgeon advisory committee.

Bruch has worked for the DNR for 32 years and the last 19 years became known as the sturgeon biologist for the Lake Winnebago system, which includes lakes Winnebago, Poygan, Butte des Morts and Winneconne and the Wolf and Embarrass rivers.

"This honor means a lot to me because it came from people I've worked with throughout my entire career, not only in Oshkosh, but in other parts of the state," Bruch said.

To read more of this article, go to the Post-Crescent.

Along with Kathleen Kline and Fred Binkowski of the UW Aquatic Sciences Center, Bruch is a co-writer of People of the Sturgeon: A love affair with an ancient fish, being published this October. To learn more about sturgeon, click on the link and read an excerpt from the book or reserve a copy of your own today!

Lake sturgeon spawning on Canadian side of Detroit River

Lake sturgeon have spawned four times on the reef constructed last year at the head of Fighting Island in the Detroit River! This is the first time in 30 years that spawning by lake sturgeon, a threatened species in both Michigan and Ontario, has been confirmed in the Canadian waters of the Detroit River. The new spawning reef, constructed at Fighting Island in October 2008, was celebrated as the first Canada-U.S. funded fish habitat restoration project in the Great Lakes.

To read more, go to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service or Essex Region Conservation Authority.

Sturgeon Spawning

2009 Lake Sturgeon Spawning

From Wisconsin DNR:

The 2009 sturgeon spawning season is pretty much in the books - we captured and tagged 1,231 sturgeon (including recaptures of fish we had previously tagged) over an eight-day period. As of yesterday evening (Tuesday, April 28) most of the spawning sites were quiet with maybe only a couple of straggler males hanging around at a site or two. Given the cold weather (actually cold water temperatures) the fish have had to spawn through during the last week and a half it is possible we could see a "second" run at some of the major sites like Bamboo Bend and Shawano Dam once the weather warms again to drive water temperatures close to the 60 F mark.

National Library Week: Look what we found in the library!

A big sturgeon!

Here some titles on sturgeon that you can take home with you.

Fishes of Wisconsin Field Guide
By David Bosanko
Cambridge, MN: Adventure Publications, Inc., 2007.
Wisconsin’s Water Library call number: 281489

Consuming Nature: Environmentalism in the Fox River Valley , 1850-1950
By Gregory Summers
Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2006.
Wisconsin’s Water Library call number: 201668

The Philosopher Fish: Sturgeon, caviar, and the geography of desire
By Richard Adams Carey
New York: Counterpoint, 2005.
Wisconsin’s Water Library call number: 281496

Fishing the Great Lakes: An environmental history, 1783-1933
By Margaret Beattie Bogue
Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 2000.
Wisconsin’s Water Library call number: 281026

Fishes of Wisconsin
By George C. Becker
Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1983.
Wisconsin’s Water Library call number: 281010

Fish Spawning Grounds in Wisconsin Waters of the Great Lakes
By Catherine E. Coberly and Ross M. Horrall
Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute, 1980.
Wisconsin’s Water Library call number: 280405

If you are a Wisconsin resident, please use Wisconsin's Water Library book request form. If you are UW-Madison student, faculty or staff, please request books through MadCat.

Look for People of the Sturgeon: A love affair with an ancient fish to be published in October. An expanded reading list on sturgeon coming soon!

Sturgeon stories captured in book due out in October

People of the Sturgeon: Wisconsin's love affair with an ancient fish

Lake sturgeon—ancient fish native to the Great Lakes region that can grow to be more than six feet long—have teetered on the brink of extinction since the late nineteenth century. But in Wisconsin, careful management for over 100 years has allowed one population to thrive. People of the Sturgeon is a history of the cultures surrounding lake sturgeon in Wisconsin’s Lake Winnebago region, told by a fascinating collection of photos, artifacts, and a few good fish tales.

From some of the earliest inhabitants of Wisconsin, the Menominee Indian Tribe, to the spearers who flock to frozen Lake Winnebago for the annual sturgeon spearing season, people have always been drawn to this ancient fish. While overfishing, dams and pollution nearly wiped out other populations of lake sturgeon, Winnebago sturgeon have survived and flourished because of the dedicated efforts of state managers, university researchers, and a determined group of spearers known as Sturgeon for Tomorrow. This is the only population of sturgeon in the world to have been nearly extirpated, then resurrected through a community-wide effort of people who are now joined together as People of the Sturgeon.

UW Aquatic Sciences Center authors include University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute's Kathleen Schmitt Kline and aquaculture advisory services specialist with the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute's Fred Binkowski.

In addition, Ron Bruch, Natural Resources Region Team Supervisor for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, co-authors with Kathy and Fred. Photography by the late Bob Rashid.

People of the Sturgeon can be previewed and pre-sale copies can be reserved at www.winnebagosturgeon.org.

Winnebago sturgeon spearers hoping to make history in 2009

OSHKOSH – Spearers taking to the ice for the Feb. 14 opening day of the Winnebago System sturgeon spearing seasons can expect nearly ideal spearing conditions and lots of really big fish, according to the state’s lead sturgeon biologist.

“Ice and water conditions coming into the 2009 season look very good and the prospects of seeing some really big fish are excellent,” says Ron Bruch, Department of Natural Resources sturgeon biologist and fisheries supervisor stationed in Oshkosh. “In fact, based on last year’s harvest and recent fish survey results, there’s a strong chance that some lucky spearer will make history by spearing the biggest fish ever.”

To read the rest of this article, visit Wisconsin's DNR Weekly News.

Also check out: Downloadable audio files featuring DNR Sturgeon Biologist Ron Bruch discussing the 2009 Winnebago System season are available online Lake Winnebago sturgeon pages of the DNR Web site.

Sturgeon fishing 2008

OSHKOSH, Wis. -- Sturgeon spearers who want to participate in the 2009 Lake Winnebago system sturgeon spearing season need to purchase their sturgeon spearing license before the Friday, Oct. 31 sales deadline. That is the last day sturgeon spearing licenses will be sold for Lake Winnebago and the three Upriver Lakes -- Buttes des Morts, Winneconne and Poygan seasons.

Read more...