In Northeast Wisconsin, in the springtime, we have an occurrence that is as old as time itself. You could say, “you can set your watch by it”, but nobody says that anymore. Depending on which watch you use, Darwin’s, or Gods, both have the Wisconsin Lake Sturgeon on the clock at the earliest of a.m.’s, the dawn of time if you will.
And the ever faithful sturgeon make their duly appointed rounds, sometimes better than those that battle the rain,sleet, snow and dark of night.
Watching the sturgeon roll on the Wolf River has become quite the attraction. The city of New London has done some improvements for viewing these gentle, prehistoric giants, that help folks get up close and personal to watch the spring rituals.
Here’s one of moms accounts of the famous fish…
Title: ‘Our Wisconsin Sturgeon’
Paper: Guides Journal, Spring, 1981
Pen name: Johnny Walleye (remember, as I’ve said before, back then they wouldn’t accept articles written by women, so she used my dads nick-name to submit articles to the outdoor paper)
Article…
Springtime in Waupaca County is a marvelous time for the great sturgeon. Shortly after the walleye run, the lake sturgeon start to “roll”. Their spawning run up the Wolf River is truly a spectacular event!
The sturgeon is the largest fresh water fish in the U.S. They reach weights of 300 pounds or more, and reach lengths of over eight feet. The average size sturgeon runs about 60 pounds, 100 pounders are not uncommon. Sturgeons grow slowly, maturing about the age of 12, but sometimes surviving to reach 25 years of age. The number harvested per year varies, but up to 1500 have been taken from Lake Winnebago in one season.
There is no legal angling season in Wisconsin, but the law allows a spearing season which starts in February. Long ago the Indians taught the white man man how to spear these giant fish. The technique has changed very little over the years. One additional aid has been the use of an ice fishing shanty to protect the spearer from the cold. These shanties can be seen for miles, and number in the dozens. Spearing ends around March 1st.
By that time the spawning instincts direct these prehistoric monsters to leave Lake Winnebago and start their journey to their ancestral spawning grounds 125 miles upstream to the rapids of the Wolf.
Their migration takes them past Poygan, Winneconne, and Butte des Morts, plus many other points along the migration route. They will stay in their spawning area during April, May and June.
The lake sturgeon’s range is located from Hudson Bay through central Canada, southward to Minnesota, Nebraska, Missouri and as far south as northern Alabama.
During the spawning run, these magnificent monsters are a sight to behold! Watching their progress is like going to a circus. Once you’ve seen their actions you’ll want to return every season to see them again.
Years ago, I discovered this wonderful sight quite by accident, just a block off of main street in New London. I left work early one afternoon and took a walk along the river to “unwind”. I found the sturgeons “rolling” from the Pearl Street Bridge all the way up to Bordon’s Milk Factory. It was a mesmerizing sound that over- powered the traffic noise from the nearby highway. At night, the sound is even more impressive.
Further down the Wolf River, just west of New London on Old River Road, is another favorite spot where people of all ages gather to watch and listen to the sturgeon roll. They weave in and out of the old submerged tree roots that cling stubbornly to the river bank. It is here that teenagers have been known to wrestle them, game wardens go crazy trying to protect them, and camera buffs muscle each other for the best angle to photograph them.
But best of all, you know they’ll be back again next year so you can be there to see the big fish roll on the Wolf.
The End
It’s now late March, the ice is going out, the walleye fishermen are out, not in droves, not yet, but they’re out, and that can only mean the sturgeon are not far behind them.
How true my moms last statement is. I’m in my late forties now, staring down the barrel of fifty, married, with five grown children, and my mom and dad are both gone now, have been… for some years now.Â
But those sturgeon keep rolling along!
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