4th-largest sturgeon ever speared on Lake Winnebago is bigger than the spearer herself

VAN DYNE, Wis. (WLUK) — Hayley Herzig, 22, has been sturgeon-spearing for six years but she didn't expect her first harvest to be larger than herself.

"It was very exciting, did not feel real," said Herzig.

It didn't take her long, as Herzig harvested the fish of a lifetime just minutes into opening day of the 2025 sturgeon spearing season.

"When they pulled it up on the scale and the weight popped up on the screen we were all in, I was in disbelief," said Herzig.

At a whopping 180.5 pounds and a little more than 79 inches long, the DNR considers it the fourth-largest fish speared on the Winnebago system.

The largest ever on Lake Winnebago was speared back in 2010 and weighed 212 pounds.

Herzig and her boyfriend, Charles Loehr, needed a little help bringing the fish to shore at Wendt's On The Lake in Van Dyne, unable to carry it themselves.

"Oh no, no (laughs) not even close," said Herzig.

"We knew we did something great and we knew it was probably going to go pretty far on the leaderboard and, yeah it was, just anxious to get it in," said Loehr.

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The couple says the sturgeon is currently buried in snow in their backyard to preserve it before they fillet it for some tasty meals.

"We're planning on cutting it up and either smoking it or deep frying it," said Herzig.

"We're probably going to get a replica for her and hang it up in the house because it's, I mean it's a memory that'll never be forgotten," added Loehr.

While Hayley's spearing season has come to a close, now it's Charles turn to hopefully bring home his own sturgeon before the season ends later this month.