Lake Winnebago Sturgeon Spearing 2026: Population Update, Harvest Caps, and Fishery Health Report

When the February wind sweeps across the ice and the shacks dot the horizon, you know exactly where you are on the legendary waters of Lake Winnebago. This is not just another Midwest lake. This is tradition. This is heritage. This is sturgeon season.

Spearing on Winnebago is not simply a pastime. It is a chapter in Wisconsin’s outdoor story. And as the 2026 season rolls on, anglers are once again finding success beneath the dark water and thick ice.

But beyond the shanties, decoys, and long spears lies the bigger question. How are the fish really doing?

According to Wisconsin DNR sturgeon biologist Margaret Stadig, the system continues to hold strong. The population is steady, hovering around 25,000 adult males and roughly 15,000 adult females. That is about 40,000 adult lake sturgeon cruising the Winnebago system.

For a fish that predates the dinosaurs, those are reassuring numbers.

A healthy sturgeon population starts with groceries. And right now, the buffet looks solid. Out in the middle and toward the north end of the lake, chironomid larvae, better known to anglers as red worms, are thriving. In fact, biologists say they have not seen chironomid levels like this in years. That is good news for these bottom feeding giants.

Another piece of the puzzle is gizzard shad. The tiny boom and bust forage fish plays a role in the broader ecosystem. Summer trawling surveys show shad numbers remain low, continuing a trend from the past couple of years. No explosion in population, but no red flags either.

As for harvest caps in 2026, they are slightly lower than previous years, part of the careful management that keeps this fishery sustainable for generations to come. The season is set to run up to 16 days, or until harvest caps are reached.

It is a careful balance of tradition and science, heritage and habitat.

And out on the ice of Lake Winnebago, beneath boots and shacks and hopeful eyes peering into dark water, those prehistoric silhouettes are still swimming strong.