Sturgeon Spawning

A few weeks ago (April 29th, to be exact), Luke and I packed up Grace and went out to the Shiocton/Shawano area in order to see a once-a-year spectacle. The sturgeon were spawning! For about a week in early spring, you can see these massive fish up close and personal as they lay and fertilize their eggs on the Wolf River. It's one of the few places in the world that allows you to do so.

Many Wisconsinites have never even seen this before, Luke included. Since I used to work in Shawano often, I'd had many chances to see it before. Nevertheless, it was great to watch.

Luke was in charge of the camera that night and got lots of splashing fish pictures. He was very enthusiastic in his photo-snapping (mostly because this was his first experience getting up close to these awesome fish), so I'll just share the best pictures from the night.

At first, there wasn't too much to see. Just a few ripples...

 

 

Then some fins appeared.

 

Pretty soon they were all around us!

 

 We even got some up close views.

 

These fish were massive! Some were more than 6 feet long.

After viewing the sturgeon, we went and looked at the local marsh as well.

Grace and Luke enjoyed their first sturgeon spawning.

^"All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air,

and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!"

Psalms 8:7-9

Jen