PHOTO: Courtesy of Wisconsin DNR
(WTAQ-WLUK) — If you want to go sturgeon spearing during the 2026 season, now’s the time to purchase your license.
All spearers interested in heading out to harvest a lake sturgeon from Lake Winnebago must obtain a license before Oct. 31. That’s required by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
An unlimited number of licenses is available for Lake Winnebago. Both residents and nonresidents can purchase a license through the Go Wild system or at any license sales location.
License holders must be a minimum of 12 years old. Military personnel home on leave during the spearing season and youth who will turn 12 between Nov. 1, 2025, and the last day of the 2026 spearing season, do not need to purchase their license by the Oct. 31 deadline.
The Upriver Lakes fishery — which consists of Lakes Poygan, Butte des Morts and Winneconne — is managed by a preference point system and lottery. It’s limited to 500 permitted spearers.
Successful Upriver Lakes tag applicants have already been authorized for the 2026 season and have until the start of the spearing season to purchase a license. Keep in mind that successful Upriver Lakes tag applicants cannot purchase a tag for Lake Winnebago.
Sales of sturgeon spearing licenses help fund sturgeon management activities on the Winnebago System, including staffing registration stations during the spearing season and work during the spawning season to gather data to set the sustainable harvest caps.
License sales also fund the large acoustic tagging project in the Winnebago System, which tracks lake sturgeons’ movement throughout the system to ensure all Winnebago lake sturgeon management decisions are made using the best science.
The 2026 sturgeon spearing season opens Feb. 14 and will run for a maximum of 16 days, or until any of the predetermined harvest caps are met.
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