INTERVIEW: DNR previews sturgeon spearing season

LAKE WINNEBAGO, Wis. (WBAY) - Sturgeon spearers have their eyes on Mother Nature the next few days before those eyes start staring down holes in the ice on Saturday.

Due to warm weather and rain, ice conditions could change before the start of the 16-day sturgeon spearing season. If not, the DNR says there are plenty of sturgeon to go around -- approximately 40,000 adults in the Lake Winnebago System.

Margaret Stadig, sturgeon biologist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, previews the upcoming season with estimates of the number of sturgeon up for grabs, the number of spearing licenses (about 1,000 more than last year), and their predicted success rate. Stadig also talks about the health of the sturgeon population, which has seen a slight decrease.

Then we get to the important matters of the weather and how it can affect water quality, what kind of success spearers had in other warm seasons, and how often the DNR will be checking the water quality.

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