My 2026 sturgeon spearing season wasn’t exactly what I had hoped for, but it was still an experience to be on Lake Winnebago. Somehow, I had buggered up my application giving me a preference point for an upriver tag but no tag for this season. I felt a bit sheepish about admitting that until I found out my sturgeon spearing Sensei Dan had also messed up his application. He didn’t get a tag either and he’s been spearing since Bart Starr was quarterbacking for the Packers.  

In previewing the spearing season, I had described the event as a Badger football game meets an ice fishing tournament. I decided that if I couldn’t get out on the ice, I was going to experience the next best thing: hanging out at the weigh-in stations.

The sturgeon weigh-in stations are a lot like the old-time deer registration stations but different in that there is a lot more beer involved. As lucky spearers pull their sturgeon laden plastic sleds towards the scale, the bragging pole people cheer and slap backs. Successful spearers are instant celebrities when they arrive at the weigh-in station. Stories are retold as many times as asked. Almost all stories are as simple as “the sturgeon came in and I speared it.” The long odds of getting a crack at one makes every story worth listening to.

While at Wendt’s (a very popular lakeside bar/restaurant/weigh-in station) I saw a lucky spearer bring in a sturgeon measuring close to 70 inches and weighing around 65 pounds. He was a very happy camper from Milwaukee enjoying his magic moment to the fullest. He had defied the odds as it was only his second season spearing, proving that you just never know. 

I overheard another lucky guy retelling his story. He had been trying to spear a sturgeon for 18 years and he finally did it. Busch Light deserves a lot of credit helping him get over the previous sturgeon-less years and for celebrating his newfound luck as well.

From there I hopped over to Jerry’s Bar, a small neighborhood spot with a big personality. It’s the home of the Otter Street Fishing Club which is curious because Jerry’s is located on Ceape Avenue in Oshkosh. I wanted to ask someone about it but feared they would sense that I was a west coast Wisconsin guy. I didn’t want to have to explain again why I wasn’t on the ice spearing, which still stings. Jerry’s awarded me a consolation prize of a free 2026 sturgeon season collector’s beer mug just for being present and because I paid the tap beer upcharge for it. There is nothing more Wisconsin than Jerry’s Bar during the spearing season.

My sturgeon season was a great time, and I already have the permit deadline marked on my calendar. Actually, I have a reminder a week ahead to preview that reminder. Next spearing season I have something to shoot for: the chance to tie the guy from Milwaukee by getting a sturgeon on my second attempt. Then again, it could easily take me 18 years like that other guy. 

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