If you’ve been curled up under a blanket with a pile of snacks and a TV remote for much of this punishing winter, maybe it’s time to venture outside for a little fun and sun.
One of the most unique sports in Wisconsin is underway, and if you don’t want to participate, you certainly can watch as those patient sturgeon spearers emerge from their shanties and head for weigh stations around Lake Winnebago and the upriver lakes (Poygan, Winneconne and Butte des Morts).
I consider myself a pretty patient person (unless a slow driver hangs in the left lane of a four-lane highway), but I’ve tried sturgeon spearing at least twice (once on Lake Winnebago, where the odds are about 10% that you’ll jab one, and once on Lake Poygan, where the odds are about 60% thanks to clearer, shallower water), and I retired before ever seeing a sturgeon in the hole.
I have witnessed others spear them, however, and it really is a thrilling sport, if you don’t mind waiting years or even decades between fish.
Although anyone can get a tag to spear on Winnebago, it takes years for most spearers to save up preference points for an upriver lakes tag.
Sturgeon spearing season opened Feb. 14 and continues until certain harvest quotas are met.
Thousands will sit in warm ice shanties, staring at 4-by-8-foot holes in the ice from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Thanks to mandated weigh stations for those lucky enough to stab a sturgeon, spectators have great opportunities to see these massive prehistoric missiles come in for close views and photos.
I used to chase around to many weigh stations as an outdoors writer for the Post-Crescent and later the Shawano Leader, with then sturgeon biologist Ron Bruch on my flip phone speed dial. I finally got smart, realizing that most of the big fish were coming in from the shallows of Lake Poygan and getting weighed at Critter’s Wolf River Sports/Woodeye’s Bar in Winneconne. They even bring the big ones inside the bar and flop them down on a tarp-covered pool table.
Another great place to watch the big ones come in is at Wendt’s on the Lake south of Oshkosh. Enjoy a great meal and watch through the picture window as spearers hang the big ones from a bragging pole.
New this year is a full bar on the ice, east of Merritt Street in Oshkosh. The Sturgeon Spirits Craft Distillery in Oshkosh plans to open opening weekend and Feb. 21-22. For full details, visit https://sturgeonspirits.com/bar-on-ice.
The Battle on Bago on Feb. 20-21 boasts $475,000 in prizes.
You can win cash prizes and even a truck at one of the largest ice fishing tournaments in the nation — and you don’t even need to catch a fish to win something. The fishing tournament tickets are $40 each (allowing the entry of one fish per ticket in the panfish, white bass and walleye categories).
Ticket sales end at 6 a.m. Feb. 20, when the contest officially starts. The event ends at 2 p.m. Feb. 21. Cash prizes are awarded based on the weight of individual fish.
Minimum lengths for panfish (bluegills, crappies and perch) as well as white bass are 8 inches. Walleyes have a slot limit. Go here for all the contest rules: www.battleonbago.org/winter-battle.
Meanwhile, if you don’t want to freeze your fanny on the ice but still want to win prizes, head for the giant heated tent in Menominee Park and enjoy music, food and fun. Admission is free, and the Glam Band will perform from 7:30-11 p.m. Feb. 20. There are raffles for guns and outdoor-related gear, including a 2025 Ford F-150 truck and a Honda UTV.
Battle on Bago has generated more than $2.6 million in its 19-year history and used for youth and conservation projects in the Fox Valley.
If you don’t want to venture onto the ice but still want to have some fun this winter, why not try a coyote hunt? Although a .22 long rifle is enough to do the job, a .22 Magnum or larger is better. All you need is a predator call, either a simple mouth call or a more sophisticated electronic one. Both imitate the sounds of prey, typically wounded rabbits or mice.
The hunter becomes the hunted when a hungry coyote (or two, or three) decide to come in for an easy meal. Make sure you keep track of the wind and set up where you can see in all directions. These fawn-eating predators are as crafty as their reputation, but once you fool one, you’ll be hooked.
Both 2025 hunting and fishing licenses are good until March 31, and coyote season is open all year long.
If you jab a big sturgeon, catch some nice panfish or walleyes through the ice or manage to bag a coyote, drop me an email and send me a photo. Don’t forget the hand warmers.
Ross Bielema is a freelance writer from New London and owner of Wolf River Concealed Carry LLC. Contact him at Ross@wolfriverccw.com.
