Mornin' to any lovebirds out there looking for a romantic, somewhat outdoorsy getaway this winter. This is the Wiscampsin Weekly - the email that gets you in the know on the Wisconsin outdoors in 5 minutes or less. New reader? Subscribe here.

This week’s weekly:

• Hunting the “Dinosaur of the Midwest” 🦖 

• Watch: Cougar kills deer 🦌 

• Backlog maintenance at National Parks 💰

Lake Winnebago Sturgeon Spearing

Picture this:

You're sitting in complete darkness. Where the floor should be, there's a 3 x 4 foot hole, chainsawed in the ice. Everything is still in your ice fishing shanty as you peer intently into the murky waters.

In your left hand, you hold a glazer from Kwik Trip (duh).

But in your right, you wield your Grandfather's spear, a relic that looks like Poseidon's trident.

Just when you're about to reach for your bag of cheese curds, you see a flicker of movement below, a shadow approaching your wooden pike decoy. With all your might, you thrust your spear into the water...

Sturgeon Spearing

• Lake Winnebago, WI is home to one of the largest populations of lake sturgeon in the world

• Every year, the 15-day season draws thousands of participants and spectators from around the world

• Wisconsin lawmakers are petitioning for exemption from federal protection of Lake Sturgeon (more below)

“Living Dinosaurs”

Lake Sturgeon have been swimming in the world's watery depths for millions of years, earning them the moniker "Dinosaur of the Midwest" for their prevalence in our neck of the woods.

Way back when, Native Americans speared for sturgeon on the Great Lakes as a way to source fish in the winter time.

Indeed, early French explorers wrote about the Menominee tribe, and how skilled they were at spearing these swimming fossils through the ice.

But these fish were on thin ice come the early 1900s. Fur traders and early settlers had adopted the sport, and without regulation, the sturgeon were nearly wiped out.

By 1915, harvesting sturgeon by any method was outlawed. However, folks petitioned for a season to be created during the Great Depression, and in June of 1931, the Lake Winnebago sturgeon spearing season was created.

Sturgeon spearing today

Sturgeon can grow as long as six feet, weigh up to 100 pounds, and live up to several decades!

Currently, there are only two places in the US that allow sturgeon spearing: Black Lake, Michigan, and the Winnebago system in Wisconsin.

The Winnebago system sturgeon spearing season runs from Feb. 10 to Feb. 25 (unless the harvest cap is met earlier).

Spearers can either purchase a Lake Winnebago license, which are unlimited in the # sold, or try for the Upriver Lakes (Butte des Morts, Winneconne, and Poygan).

Only 500 of the Upriver licenses are sold, as the success rate is much higher than Lake Winnebago’s (62% vs 9%). Las year, a whopping 13,246 licenses were sold!

And how’d these patient spearers do? In 2023, a total of 1,405 sturgeon were harvested between the two areas.

A murky future

Although each season’s quota is determined by the DNR, who survey the population for what’s sustainable, sturgeon spearing could come to an end soon.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife are to make a decision on whether or not the Lake Sturgeon should be protected under the Endangered Species Act.

But a bipartisan group of Wisconsin lawmakers have introduced a bill (the SPEAR Act), petitioning for exemption from what would be Federal protection for the sturgeon.

Signatures included U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman, the rest of the state’s House Republicans, Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson.

How to get out ‘der

It's more than just going out in hopes of spearing the largest sturgeon of the season (like the 212-pounder that Ronald Grishaber speared in 2010) that get folks out on the ice year after year.

It's the promise of friends, family, and time spent in the great outdoors, and this tradition is still as vibrant as the die hards who spend day after day waiting to loose their spears.

Want to join in? Purchase your Sturgeon spearing license by Oct 31st next year, and you too may be hauling out one of these prehistoric creatures!

(Of course, you can also just tag along for the fellowship, the food, and the fresh air.)

Now get out ‘der!

Other great Wiscampsin reads…

The Fish of 10,000 Casts

Liquid Gold: Ranking Wisconsin's Lakes

Wisconsin Trout Fishing

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Wiscampsin Weekly Poll

David Norris, hailing from Steamboat Springs, CO, won the Birkie Stake with a Frenchman and a Canadian following suit last year. Norway received the most 1st place guesses with 38%, and rightfully so!

Maybe this year we will see a Norwegian win, knowing there will be more international stars with a FIS Cross-Country World Cup event taking place the week prior in MN (1st time a world cup cross-country skiing event will take place in the US in 20+ years!).

Nuts and Seeds 🌰 

🦌 Rare Cougar Kill: As if our somewhat irrational fear of a cougar attack wasn’t terrifying enough, a Michigan trail cam caught a rare video of a cougar killing a deer. With males weighing between 135 - 175 pounds, they can easily take down a deer (or even elk). Pretty rad!

🧊 Why WI Lakes Take So Long To Freeze: Much to the delight of ice fishermen throughout the state, many WI lakes are now frozen after a week of nipply temps. Why did it take so long? Experts think late winter freezes may become the norm, as the average date of first ice in Wisconsin slowly gets later and later in the year. Read this interesting piece about studying Lake Mendota freezing.

💰 Maintenance Backlog At National Parks: Places like Apostle Islands National Lakeshore are not receiving some very necessary maintenance, due to ‘marked up costs’ and a reliance on inaccurate data by the National Park Service, according to a joint subcommittee hearing in the U.S. House. Backlog maintenance costs have risen from $13.1 billion in 2019 to $22.3 billion in 2022.

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Meme of the Week 😂

A review from the trail… Well cripes, I can’t remember everything now!