James Gishkowsky holds up one of many largest Lake sturgeon ever speared out of Lake Winnebago. through Facebook<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Valentine\u2019s Day 2023 will all the time maintain a particular place in Wisconsin fisherman James Gishkowsky\u2019s reminiscence. He was on Lake Winnebago throughout a particular open spear-fishing season. The morning was off to a gradual begin. But at one level that afternoon, as he peered by means of a big gap within the lake ice, an enormous sturgeon confirmed itself within the water.<\/p>\n When the fish was shut sufficient, Gishkowsky launched a long-handled spear with a broad head formed like a pitchfork. The spear factors slammed into the large fish. The multi-pronged head then indifferent from the picket spear deal with because the sturgeon made its first run. Gishkowsky clung to the rope because the fish surged away with the spearhead buried in its again.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a big adrenaline rush,\u201d he advised the Fond du Lac Reporter<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s once in a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n But that rush quickly wore off. Gishkowsky realized he wouldn\u2019t be capable of muscle the big sturgeon by means of the ice on his personal. He yelled out, and associates quickly got here to assist him battle the fish. Eventually they hauled it by means of the spearing gap and out onto the ice. Then they loaded the sturgeon onto a sled and towed it again throughout the lake with an ATV. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n They took the sturgeon straight to \u201cWendt\u2019s On The Lake.\u201d This lakeshore restaurant close to the city of Van Dyne serves as one of many official weigh stations in the course of the temporary Winnebago sturgeon spearing season. The 79.9-inch fish tipped the scales at 177.3 kilos, and images present that the sturgeon was longer than Gishkowsky is tall.<\/p>\n Wisconsin DNR officers who have been monitoring the weigh station mentioned Gishkowsky\u2019s sturgeon was an F4 fish. That means it was a mature feminine filled with eggs. They defined that the fish seemingly would have spawned this 12 months, releasing round 20 to 30 kilos of roe.<\/p>\n The DNR additionally introduced that Gishkowsky\u2019s fish is the seventh-heaviest sturgeon speared within the Lake Winnebago system within the final 82 years. The largest in that point span is a 212-pounder that was taken in 2010. With the 177.3-pound fish to his credit score, Gishkowsky is now a member of the \u201cHeavy Hitters Club,\u201d a choose group of fishermen who’ve speared sturgeon over 170 kilos on the Winnebago lakes system.<\/p>\n Sturgeon spearing on Wisconsin\u2019s Lake Winnebago has an extended and wealthy custom, in line with the DNR\u2019s web site<\/a>. The water physique has considered one of North America\u2019s largest lake sturgeon populations. It can be considered one of solely two locations on the continent the place anglers can harvest the large, prehistoric fish with spears. (The different location is Michigan\u2019s Black Lake.) The state\u2019s temporary spearing season<\/a> usually lasts round 16 days, or till anglers attain any of the harvest caps.<\/p>\n Read Next:<\/strong> Michigan\u2019s Shortest Fishing Season Lasted Exactly 36 Minutes This Year<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe first modern sturgeon fishery took place in 1932,\u201d in line with the Wisconsin DNR. \u201cAlthough regulations have changed through time, the premise of using a spear to harvest a sturgeon through the ice has remained constant.\u201d<\/p>\n Anglers additionally catch sturgeon fairly often on Lake Winnebago utilizing hook and line. And if Gishkowsky would have caught his fish with a rod and reel, he would have an IGFA all deal with world document for the species. The present IGFA world-record lake sturgeon<\/a> is a 168-pounder. Angler Edward Paszkow hauled it from Georgian Bay, Ontario, in 1982.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nWisconsin\u2019s Special Sturgeon Spearing Season<\/h2>\n