Lake Winnebago Sturgeon Season Finale: 36 Speared Yesterday, Season Closes at Noon Today

Hey folks, this is Artificial Lure, your go-to guy for all things fishing on Lake Winnebago and the system around it. It's Monday, February 23rd, 2026, and we're wrapping up the sturgeon spearing season early after a hot weekend. Wisconsin DNR reports 36 sturgeon speared yesterday—202 juvenile females, 662 adults, and 660 males total so far—with the adult female cap hit at 90-99%. Season closes at 1 p.m. today for Lake Winnebago tags, but ice is solid thanks to the cold snap, especially on the east side.

No tides here on this big freshwater lake, but sunrise was around 6:45 a.m., sunset about 5:30 p.m. Weather's chilly—highs in the low 20s, winds light from the north, perfect for clear water visibility under the ice. Sturgeon activity peaked with that monster 138.1-pound, 80.3-inch female by Trevor Theyerl at Pipe station. East side hotspots like Pipe, Quinney, and Stockbridge saw 21 registrations yesterday—head there if you're spearing till noon.

For open water or post-spearing anglers, walleyes are staging in deep water near Wolf River cattail marshes for their spring run, per Midwest Outdoors. Panfish and perch picking up too in shallower bays. Best lures? For spearing, decoys mimicking suckers or shad—big eyes, flash. If you're jigging walleyes through ice, try 1/4-oz jigheads with minnow-tipped soft plastics or gold blades. Live bait shines: fathead minnows or medium shiners on quick-strike rigs for sturgeon or walleye.

Hot spots: East shore near Pipe for sturgeon action, and deep edges off Fremont for walleyes holding tight. Ice safety first—no booze, spuds out, tell a buddy your plan.

Thanks for tuning in, folks—subscribe for more reports! This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease.ai.

Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI