Lake Winnebago ice fishing

Lake Winnebago is Wisconsin's largest inland lake, about 30 miles long and 10 miles wide, with Fond du Lac at the south end and Oshkosh, Neenah, and Menasha also on its shores. Fond du Lac is about an hour's drive from Milwaukee, which puts the whole lake within easy reach for a day trip from most of eastern Wisconsin.

It's a shallow lake, with a maximum depth of about 21 feet. In winter you'll find walleye and panfish anglers spread across it, and in February it hosts something you won't see many other places: the Lake Winnebago sturgeon spearing season.

What you're fishing for

Walleye are the main target for most hook-and-line anglers, with yellow perch, white bass, crappie, bluegill, and eelpout all in the mix. Walleye, perch, white bass, and crappie tend to roam together on the same forage, so a good spot can turn up a bit of everything.

Early in the season, panfish move into the bays and channels along the west shore. As the winter goes on, fish spread out into the main basin, which locals call "the mud." Anglers often run two or three miles off the east or west shore and drill a lot of holes to find roaming fish.

Sturgeon spearing

Lake Winnebago has one of the best self-sustaining lake sturgeon populations in North America, and the spearing season is a big deal around here. It's a short, tightly managed season with harvest caps, and every fish taken gets registered with the DNR the same day.

How it works, as of the current regulations:

• The season opens the second Saturday in February and runs 16 days, or until a harvest cap is reached. For 2027, it's set to open February 13 and close February 28 unless a cap is hit first.
• Spearing hours are 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• You must buy your Lake Winnebago spearing license by October 31 of the year before. There's no limit on how many are sold, and you can buy one per season.
• The minimum age is 12.
• Each fish has to be taken to a DNR registration station on the lake by 2 p.m. the same day.
• The Upriver Lakes (Butte des Morts, Winneconne, and Poygan) are a separate fishery with a lottery for a limited number of licenses.

Details, fees, and harvest caps are on the DNR's Winnebago System sturgeon spearing page.

Kinds of trips

Lake Winnebago doesn't run on resort ice roads the way some Minnesota lakes do. Instead, local fishing clubs monitor the ice, plow roads, and set bridges over the pressure cracks that open up on the lake each winter. They pay for it through memberships and donations collected at the bridges, so bring cash. Everyone using those roads and bridges does so at their own risk, and they open and close with conditions.

The Merritt Street access in Oshkosh is the most popular, since it's the shortest route out to the main basin.

Plenty of anglers bring their own portable shelters and gear and fish on their own. If you'd rather not, some guides and charter captains run ice trips that supply a heated shelter, rods, and electronics, which is a good way to learn the lake.

Licenses and rules

Anyone 16 or older needs a Wisconsin fishing license. Kids 15 and under fish free. Nonresidents can buy annual or short-term licenses.

For bag limits, size limits, and seasons on Lake Winnebago, check the current Wisconsin hook and line regulations and the DNR's lake-by-lake regulation lookup linked there. The 2026-2027 guide is current as of this writing.

Permanent shanties, or any shanty you don't take off the ice each day, have to be removed by a set date. Lake Winnebago is inland water south of Highway 64, where the deadline is the first Sunday after March 1. That was March 8 in 2026. After that, portables are still fine as long as they come off the ice at the end of each day.

Before you go

• Talk to the bait shops and fishing clubs around the lake about which roads and bridges are open. They know what's changed overnight.
• Pressure cracks are a fact of life on Winnebago. Only cross where a bridge has been set, and ask locals if you're not sure.
• Use extra caution near the Fox River mouth at Oshkosh, where current affects the ice.
• A cold snap doesn't mean the ice is good. Weather is not a substitute for asking someone who's been out on it.
• Bring cash for bridge donations.
• If you want to spear sturgeon next February, buy your license before October 31.