MADISON — The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reminds anglers that the 2024 hook and line season for lake sturgeon will take place on certain waters from Sept. 7 through Sept. 30.
All anglers looking to harvest a lake sturgeon must have their general 2024 fishing license and a valid hook and line lake sturgeon tag. Licenses and tags may be purchased online through Go Wild or from one of our license vendors. All license requirements and regulations apply.
Anglers are reminded that only one sturgeon with a minimum length measurement of 60 inches may be harvested during the season. Anglers who have harvested a lake sturgeon must validate their tag immediately upon harvesting and before moving it.
All harvested sturgeon must be registered at a designated registration station. Please note that most registration stations are not open 24/7, so if anglers plan on harvesting a 60-plus inch lake sturgeon outside registration station hours, they must be prepared to keep their fish on ice.
A hook and line sturgeon tag is not required if an angler plans to release the sturgeon they catch in the open season. The DNR urges anglers to practice responsible catch-and-release when releasing any fish they do not wish to keep. Please note that it is illegal to fish by snagging, foul hooking and attempting to hook fish other than in the mouth.
Some sturgeon may have a tag near their dorsal fin with information about the movement and growth of lake sturgeon. If a tagged sturgeon is caught, please submit the following information to the county’s fisheries biologist to help the DNR in future management practices:
● Where the fish was caught (county, waterbody and location)
● The date of the catch
● Tag number, color and material composition of the tag (i.e., metal or plastic)
● Overall fish length
Please leave the tag attached to the fish if you release it.
Season Predictions
Anglers will have an opportunity to catch sturgeon from shore in the tailwaters of almost all the dams on the Flambeau River, except in the fish refuges downstream of the Turtle-Flambeau Flowage and Upper Park Falls Flowage dams. A higher abundance of sturgeon will likely be found in the deep pools in the free-flowing reaches between dams accessible by canoe or kayak. However, sturgeon can also be found in any of the eight impoundments from Park Falls to the Chippewa River.
DNR fisheries biologists predict that anglers will likely catch plenty of juvenile lake sturgeon while fishing the lower Chippewa River near Eau Claire, signaling that this population will be around for generations to come. Legal-sized lake sturgeon inhabit all six of the lower Chippewa River impoundments, so there are opportunities to hook a “keeper” lake sturgeon in west-central Wisconsin.
Yellow Lake in Burnett County continues to provide a trophy lake sturgeon fishery, with many sturgeon in the 40- to 60-inch range. It’s possible some anglers could reel in a sturgeon over 70 inches. Anglers should be on the lookout for yellow dangler tags on the dorsal fin of lake sturgeon in Yellow Lake. Often covered in algae, these tags contain a five-digit number that anglers should report to DNR fisheries biologist Craig Roberts at Craig.Roberts@wisconsin.gov or 715-416-0351. Anglers may need to clean the tag to read the number and should leave the tag on the fish.
The Lower Menominee River is also expected to provide good catch and release opportunities, and the open portions of the Upper Menominee River will also have plenty of fish available, with a few sturgeon reaching the 60-inch length limit.
Biologists predict large numbers of juvenile and adult sturgeon will be caught in the Wisconsin River if water levels remain stable, as conditions will likely be ideal for targeting lake sturgeon.
Anglers can find additional information on the inland hook and line sturgeon webpage.
