FOND DU LAC (NBC 26) — Early Thursday morning at a registration station on the southwest shore of Lake Winnebago, the number of sturgeon speared here so far sits at zero.
Margaret Stadig, a sturgeon biologist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, explains the reasons for the slow down.
"With the warm weather and that rain, a lot of those access points are starting to deteriorate," Stadig said. "They are starting to get spongy and get wet. Which is why a lot of the spearers ended up pulling their shacks between Monday and yesterday."
Because of this, many spearers are staying away from the melting ice.
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Which Stadig says may extend the spearing season after a fast start.
"We only harvested 30 fish total, males and females yesterday," Stadig said. "So that's where with probably fewer spearers out today, we are that close. But we are just far enough away that we will probably definitely hit the weekend."
West Shore Fishing Club board member Steve Klein says he thinks over the past five to ten years the warm temperatures have become more common.
"I can remember we actually had almost 70 a couple years ago," Klein said.
NBC 26's chief meteorologist Cameron Moreland says, dating back to 1887, four of the top 11 warmest winters have occurred in the last 11 years. The 2023-2024 season ranking as the warmest on record with the average high of nearly 37.2 degrees.
Klein says that's all the more reason to keep ice safety in mind and right now, it's best to use caution.
"Basically, UTV, ATV or walking you'll still be alright I would say. Klein said. "We will have our ATV bridges still placed out there."
Klein also says that if you are planning to go back out on the ice this weekend that no ice is 100 percent safe, especially with the recent warm weather.
