[Smashin Gutz]

Last night I saw on WTTW ch11 a documentary called "Under the Ice" and it was about Sturgeon spear fishing season, which by the way they said is usually the 2nd Saturday in Feb. It looked like a lot of fun except when one guy was being interviewed he has been doin it for 7 years and has never caught a sturgeon, but others around him have caught them. Now that's dedication! The management of those fish by the DNR there is crazy, but I guess that's why they are still around today! It was a real interesting film, best part for the half hour it was on there were no commercial's. Anyone ever done this would love to hear your stories, just added it to my bucketlist

[Fishnfacts]

I lived on Bago for a year and was introduced to this. It is awesome and a blast. You have to get your permit by the end of October I believe. The shack that I was invited to also had been doing it for years and got one his first year and none since. Well we had just got in and got the shack warm when out of no where comes this prehistoric monster up to his decoy. He got so excited I was afraid that I would end up with the sharp end of the spear. He made a solid hit right behind the gill plates and the fight was on. Man this is extreme fishing! After what seemed to be 1/2 hour he has it up and burst through the door to the outside with a nice 53 incher to show for it. He invited me back saying I must have luck since it had been years since he had even seen one under the ice let alone have the chance to spear it. If I had a shack I could set up out there I would be in on it for sure. I have seen them in the areas I ice fish on several occasions and think I might have just enough luck to miss one. I will be out there this weekend griding 5 square miles of mud flats. They should have the bridges in and roads marked by Saturday.

[Smashin Gutz]

You have to have a lot of patience to endure some tough fishing like that, but once you get one I'm sure you'll be satisfied!! Yeah they showed the bridges and the cracks in the ice where they put them, that has to be a unnerving feeling seeing something like that. I definitely want to try this before my time expires.

[goldrope]

I saw it posted. dvr'ed it. watched this morning definetly cool. ya hey dere, you betcha. my old man fishes out there quite often in the summer , say's they've been know to jump and fatally injure people in boats...i'm more prone to talk him into goin to green bay,so i dont have alot experience on winnebago. nice area though.

[Esox Tracker]

Definitely something everyone should try at least once in their lifetime. HUGE tradition up dere, it's not always about the catching.
Building a versatile laker/sturgeon permanent shack at fish camp to move from Green to Winne. Hopefully it's done by the summer.

Fishnfacts wrote:

They should have the bridges in and roads marked by Saturday.

I sure hope so. No snow should get that ice plenty thick by the weekend, 10-13" in most areas now.

goldrope wrote:

say's they've been know to jump and fatally injure people in boats.

Especially in the northern part of the system during early spring. Had one sky completely out of the water and belly flop 15' from the boat this spring while I was trolling and just about pissed myself. Can't wait to work the skinny water this spring again.

[BigMinnowEd]

The locals in the area are growing increasingly testy over newbies to sturgeon spearing. In monitoring another site similar to chitown, I came across a forum thread and quite a few unhappy people. Seems that the numbers of people wanting to do this is ever growing and the ice is getting crowded. I hate to advertise another site but I'm guessing many already know of its existence. If the link does not work just go to the lake link site and look for the Wisconisn Sturgeon Spearfishing thread.

[deadeye2]

Big Minnow
It's not just the sturgeon fishing thats pissing off the Chedder heads, it's just showing up in their state. Bashing people from Illinios is their national past time up dere. Trust me on this one, I have freinds and family in Oshkosh, Appleton, Chilton and Quinny. It's like a trophy to them to rib someone from Illinois, they will talk about it for a month or all year in the bar. Lake Winnabago is so darn big it couldn't possibly get over crowded, however it can get busy, but there is pleanty of room. Sturgeon spearing it way over rated as well. The best way to describe it is it's like staring at a blank green TV screen in a darked out room for hours on end, Woo-hoo. Take it for what it's worth, it's just an excuse to get out of the house and get loaded, again. So if thats your game, you will have a great time, don't forget the Johnsonville brats and a grill. If you want to make nice with the neighbors any kind of alcolhol will do, Wild Turkey or beer seem popular.The catch is monitored daily by the DNR and if the limit is reached it gets shut down that day.

[tinyfisher]

BigMinnowEd wrote:

The locals in the area are growing increasingly testy over newbies to sturgeon spearing. In monitoring another site similar to chitown, I came across a forum thread and quite a few unhappy people. Seems that the numbers of people wanting to do this is ever growing and the ice is getting crowded. I hate to advertise another site but I'm guessing many already know of its existence. If the link does not work just go to the lake link site and look for the Wisconisn Sturgeon Spearfishing thread.

Be careful of looking too much into what a couple of yahoos post on an internet site...

[goldrope]

especially the previously mentioned site... potentially the worst thing to happen to fishing in a long time.
that area of the world gets alot of tourism. country thunder walleye weekend,air shows. merc invitational. otter street tournaments. they appreciate the buisness. hell i drop more money in custom colored crankbaits in a summer up there, than i spend in 12 months in illinois bait shops/box stores.dont let less than 1% of the population speak for the rest of them. thats a big body of water, lots of room lots of fish