The 2010 sturgeon spearing season was, from almost all reports, highly successful. Although it ran only six days, it produced over 70 fish over one hundred pounds and a record breaking 212 pound monster taken by Ron Grishaber of Appleton on opening day.

When the big fish was opened up, it lacked any black eggs. According to Ron Bruch, had it contained eggs, it would have probably weighed in the 240 pound range. Using an inner bone in the head that has notches representing the number of years, the fish was estimated to be probably over one hundred years old.

When asked whether the spearing of so many big fish would impact the resource, Bruch stated that it shouldn’t be a factor. He seemed to feel that it reflected the overall health of the sturgeon population.

The first few days of the season saw very few citations issued for spearing related violations. However, as the season progressed, Warden Disher said there was one individual without a license who speared an 89 pound fish, and there were a few tags being illegally transferred.

Snowmobile violations were more prevalent than spearing violations, and there were three local snowmobile accidents where the snowmobile drivers failed to stop at a marked intersection.

On Tuesday, Feb. 23rd, the final attempt at overriding Gov. Doyle’s veto of AB-138 was held in Madison. If the override failed, it would be a slap in the face to the people of Wisconsin who have supported the Board of Natural Resources appointing the DNR secretary rather than the governor.

The spring deer meeting for DMUs 64, 64A, 80B, 80A and 81 will be held on Wednesday, March 10th at the Denmark High School cafeteria, 450 N. Wall St., beginning with a video presentation, followed by Q&A and discussion. For further information, you can contact DNR biologists Aaron Bucholz at 755-4983 or Dick Nikolai at 832-1804.

This meeting will be a good opportunity to give the DNR your view on population numbers in your area. After the beating it has taken over the past few months, biologists may be more receptive to your input.

There has been yet another attempt to circumvent the spring hearing process by going to legislators to introduce wildlife changes. This time the Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association and the Wisconsin Hunters Rights Coalition is pushing a bill that would allow hunters without a bear kill tag to train bear hunting dogs during the hunting season; would allow a Class B license holder to serve as a backup shooter: would eliminate the back tag requirement for Class B license holders; and would create a free week (no license required) for bear dog training in August.

The bill, introduced by Ann Hraychuck (D-Balsam Lake) passed the Assembly on Jan. 28th on a voice vote and is up for review by the Senate.

The bill is opposed by the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation and various other groups and individuals. The back tag portion has reportedly been removed due to law enforcement concerns, but the other provisions remain controversial.

My problem with the bill is not necessarily its content but the process. Ann Hraychuck is a dedicated outdoors woman, but I think she needs to look at the big picture. While going through the spring hearing process takes time, it gives everyone in the state a chance to express their views.

The WDNR has come up with $18,000 to have two UW-Green Bay professionals investigate “thrill killings.” Their conclusions are scheduled to be available by summer.

I am looking forward to their work, but I have serious doubts whether they will be coming up with contributing factors that haven’t already been cited.

Recently, the DNR issued wildlife reports for this past year. The whitetail registration numbers are getting close to finality. The harvest for 2009 currently stands at 327,484, with a total buck kill of 133,677. This last number is down less than 3.5% from 2008. This is apparently significant because the buck kill is a major component of the Sex-Age-Kill (SAK) model which is used to generate winter population estimates.

In an attempt to temper deer number concerns about the gun deer season, the agency said the 2009 archery season had the fourth highest buck kill (41,155) in history.

The total antlerless deer harvest was 190,634, dropping an astounding 37% from 2008.

Until next time, keep you hooks sharp, your feet warm and your powder dry!

Written By Bob Wilberscheid

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