SHIOCTON, WI (WTAQ) – It might be a bit cold this week, but a sign of spring has sprung as sturgeon began spawning along the Wolf River on Tuesday.
A crew from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is stationed at Bamboo Bend in Shiocton, taking measurements of the prehistoric fish. DNR Sturgeon Biologist Margaret Stadig says it’s been a weird, unpredictable year.
“I thought the spawn held off with the cold weather, but there are a lot of fish spawning and the water temperatures did drop today. So this could be a long drawn-out process, or it could go quickly,” Stadig told WTAQ News. “The spawn is going, it’s hot and heavy, so definitely get out here!”
With that being said, Stadig doesn’t expect the spawning run to last until the weather gets a bit nicer this weekend.
“Don’t wait for this weekend for it to get nice. It’s been really difficult to predict what the fish are going to do, so bundle up and come on out. They’re here, and it’s a fantastic site,” Stadig said. “Bamboo Bend in Shiocton right now has a lot of locations all along the entire riprap and the trail where you can see fish up close, and they’re spawning actively. It’s a really, really good location.”
DNR researchers are also seeing fish actively spawning at sites in New London, Princeton, and Berlin along the Fox River.
“They’re up on the rocks, they are splashing around, and there’s a lot of fish spawning,” Stadig said.
The Wolf River Cam also live-streams underwater views of the spawning sturgeon at several locations along the river.
Sturgeon spawning draws crowds to several locations along the Winnebago system as the fish emerge from the depths of lakes Winnebago, Butte des Morts, Winneconne and Poygan to lay their eggs on the rocky banks of the rivers feeding the lake.
