Sturgeon spawning on the Wolf

I have been keeping a close eye on the predictions for the timing of lake sturgeon spawning season this year since I was really hoping to check it out for the first time.  Last fall, I volunteered at the Adopt-a-Sturgeon event at Besadny Anadromous Fisheries Facility Open House in Kewaunee and learned a lot more about sturgeon. I "adopted" my own juvenile sturgeon and sent her (most likely) off into the Kewaunee River.  They really are remarkable prehistoric fish and have a unique life cycle.

In late April/early May, the lake sturgeon in northeastern Wisconsin leave Lake Michigan, Green Bay, and Lake Winnebago (the larger lake systems in the region) and move upriver to spawn, sometime traveling big miles to reach their spawning sites.  During this time, lots of really big fish (average 4 ft, 40 lbs.) are easy to see right along the shoreline all at once.  The exact timing depends on conditions like water temperature and water level, and usually spawning season starts and ends fairly quickly, within a matter of a week.  Unlike some salmon that also spawn in a similar fashion (fish that move upriver to spawn are anadromous), sturgeon do not die after they spawn.  The adults pretty much turn around and head on back down the rivers to return to the lakes.  The fertilized eggs (of course, the product of spawning) hatch in a about a week or two and really depend on the river system to hide and later find food as the current moves them downriver to the bigger systems.  Male sturgeon begin spawning at 15 years of ago and usually will return every year.  However, the females are not able to spawn until they are at least 20 years old and will only return every 4-5 years to spawn.  Really amazing.

The Wolf River (which flows into Lake Winnebago, the largest inland lake in WI) has a well-established sturgeon population; the fish utilize several spawning sites easily accessible via town riverside parks.  This draws large crowds who come out to see the sturgeon once spawning begins (see a local news story from this year here).  I had some time during spawning week on a fairly nice weekday to take a ride out to the City of Shawano (pronounced SHAWN oh), about 35 minutes to the west of Green Bay, to see the sturgeon at none other than Sturgeon Park.  Sturgeon Park is located just at the bottom of a dam, Shawano Dam, which is associated with a paper mill on the other side of the river.  The dam creates Shawano Lake above it, and marks the furthest point the sturgeon can make it upriver unobstructed on the Wolf.  That's 125 river miles traveled from Lake Winnebago!!  Interestingly, there is dam up on the Menominee River (the border between WI and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan) that also serves as a barrier to the sturgeon.  There, the power company has partnered with biologists to come up with a work-around solution. An elevator brings the fish up into the facility to be tagged and measured. Then, they are loaded into a truck and go for a ride up the river past the dam and other barriers that prevent their access and released back into the river.  Quite the story.  Watch two excellent Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources YouTube videos about sturgeon in the Menominee River here.

I arrived at Sturgeon Park around 9:30 AM and walked along the trail.  The sturgeon were right there- great views of the massive fish cruising along.  It was a pretty cold morning so a few sturgeon seemed active at times but the morning started off slow.  I walked around a bit to stay warm and had a snack while the sun came out.  Later, I saw some sturgeon heads randomly pop up out of the water, and some splashing and thrashing around on the rocks.  I was hoping to get a video, but it was tough to be ready in time since you never knew what was going to happen next.  The YouTube videos above have some good footage of spawning activity.  The water was also moving pretty fast due to the dam spillway, so lots of churning around and tough to get clear photos.  The sturgeon are vulnerable to poaching when they are congregated, so the Wisconsin DNR has a volunteer sturgeon guard program, placing volunteers at spawning hotspots to ensure that the fish are not harassed or illegally harvested.

I stayed until almost lunchtime and had to get going (and get warmed up on the car ride home!).  I even saw a bald eagle fly right over, unbeknownst to the spectators who were all looking down in the water.  It was a great experience to be among the sturgeon for a little while!  Hope my juvenile in the Kewaunee gets to be this big in 20 years or so- I have her tag number she received upon release, so maybe I will find out someday.

 Sturgeon Park is right on the Wolf River, just below Shawano Dam.

 Exact replica of "Stella,"  the largest lake sturgeon ever caught and tagged during spawning assessments on the Wolf River back in 2012.  She was 87.5 inches long (that's over 7 ft), 240 lbs, and estimated to be 125 years old at the time of capture!  Hopefully, she is still out there cruising the Winnebago System.

 View of the dam and spectators from the footbridge on the Mountain-Bay Recreational Trail

 The sturgeon come up along the rocky shoreline to spawn.

During spawning, people visit to get a close up look at the huge fish, and if you're lucky you might get splashed!

 The water is pretty fast right below the dam, so the photos really don't do the sturgeon justice- awesome to see so many huge fish!  A few tails visible here.

Action shot!  Got splashed on this one.

An information sign explaining the journey of the sturgeon.  Lake Winnebago is the big blue blob in the lower right...Shawano Dam is the tiny blue dot at the top center of the map. Long trip!

Spectators lined up along the shoreline enjoying the show- quite the event out here in Shawano!