The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is opening its 2026 hook and line season for lake sturgeon from Sept. 5 through Sept. 30 at designated waters.
Anglers must have a general 2026 fishing license and a valid hook and line lake sturgeon tag, which can be purchased online through Go Wild or from license vendors. Only one sturgeon with a minimum length of 60 inches may be harvested during the season.
Anglers who harvest a sturgeon must validate their tag immediately and before moving the fish, then register the catch at a designated registration station. Most registration stations do not operate 24/7, so anglers planning to harvest outside station hours should be prepared to keep their fish on ice.
A tag is not required if anglers plan to release their catch. Fishing must be done with a hook and line only; snagging and foul hooking are illegal. Some sturgeon may have tags near their dorsal fin. If caught and released, anglers should leave the tag attached and report the tag number, color, location of catch, date, fish length and tag material to the county's fisheries biologist.
The DNR forecasts good fishing opportunities at multiple locations. Anglers will have good shore access to catch sturgeon from tailwaters below dams on the Flambeau River, except in fish refuges. Eight impoundments from Park Falls to the Chippewa River should also hold sturgeon.
The lower Chippewa River is expected to provide abundant fishing action, with juvenile and sublegal adult fish in the stretch near Eau Claire and legal-sized sturgeon in all six impoundments. Yellow Lake in Burnett County continues as a trophy fishery, with many sturgeon in the 40 to 60-inch range and some possible over 70 inches. Anglers should watch for yellow dangler tags on dorsal fins and report tag numbers to DNR fisheries biologist Craig Roberts at craig.roberts@wisconsin.gov or 715-416-0351.
The Lower and Upper Menominee Rivers are expected to provide good catch and release fishing. The Wisconsin River is forecast to have large numbers of juvenile and adult sturgeon if water levels remain low.
Low water levels across the state may make boat navigation difficult for anglers.