Sturgeon Spearing in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

Since I did't get enough cold weather in Iceland, I decided to go to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin for Sturgeon Spearing with my family on frozen Lake Winnebago. It's cold with temperatures in the low digits and wind chills around minus four. Yikes!! Sturgeon Spearing happens once a year for about two weeks (or until they hit the quota) in February around my birthday (7th). I love this experience which was my Dad's favorite sport. Lake Winnebago is the largest fresh water lake within one state with depths at an average of 15.5 ft. It's one of the few lakes that have Sturgeon (ancient bottom feeders) and allow them to be speared on the frozen ice in the winter.

This year, three of my brothers, one brother and sister-in-law, two nephews and a niece were sturgeon spearing in their shanties (small huts/cabins) that sit on top of the ice about 18 inches thick. Floor doors open at one end of the shanty over a 5x10 (approx.) cut out ice hole. The shanties are dark, except for the glow from the ice hole, and very warm because of a gas heater. Each shanty has different music playing and is the perfect setting for story telling and reminiscing. My Dad would play polkas, smoke and not allow anyone to talk or have their feet hang over the ice hole so as not to scare the sturgeon. He took this sport very seriously.

Many times there are cracks on the ice or open areas, so its important to be safe and go with a local like my brother or sister. I love being out on the frozen lake and see the thousands of shanties sheltering fishermen/women waiting for the "big one". They sold twelve thousand licenses this year.

Here is the process (but remember I'm not an expert so may have some facts wrong):

Step one is to pull your shanty by truck out on the lake to an area you think there will be sturgeon.

Step two - cut out the ice hole (see video below)

Step three - move shanty over hole and set up the inside of shanty with heater, hot plate for burgers, pale for peeing, video cameras for monitoring the bottom of the lake floor for sturgeon, radio, and maybe a bottle of booze (my favorite is smokey's salty caramel whiskey) or two.

Step four - wait until start time early Saturday morning, get your spears in position and sit and wait for a sturgeon to pass through the ice hole to spear.

Step five - pull out the spears at 1pm and stop fishing; go back to land or party on the lake; and bar hop to register your sturgeon (if you have one). At the bars you can hear all the fish stories; see the speared sturgeons hanging outside the bar; have a few drinks and just enjoy the whole culture that is sturgeon spearing season. Later on things get wild as some of the drunk fishermen/women will bring their now frozen sturgeons into the bar and heave it onto a table for show and tell. This is not a very welcomed practice anymore.

This year I heard a lot of stories of sturgeon sitings and thrown spears, but no sturgeon YET for my family members.

At the same time as the spearing season is the Sturgeon Spectacular with events all around and in Fond du Lac to include a large tent with live music, curling, huge bon fire, ice sculpture contest, and LOTS OF DRINKING.

My brother Duke cutting out an ice hole for sturgeon spearing. My brothers Dennis, Mark and Gary and sister Lynn assist. The shanty in this video was my Dad's who loved sturgeon spearing. It used to be bright orange.

Pushing the cut-out ice under the ice. After they pulled the shanty over the cut-out ice hole.

shanty hopping

120 lb sturgeon brought in by two tipsy fishermen, but not allowed. Shortly after it was removed for obvious reasons.