Tail slaps, sprays and jumping salmon greet visitors who stop by the Strawberry Creek Spawning Facility right now, as hatchery staff hold the annual sturgeon spawning to assist the sport fishery.
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Biologist Logan Sikora talks about what biologists are doing these first few weeks of October at the Spawning Facility just outside of Sturgeon Bay.
The salmon’s natural inclination is to return to the stream they were born to spawn, Sikora said. Part of that natural process is death, after 1-3 years swimming in the depths of Lake Michigan.
The Strawberry Creek Spawning Facility is open Mondays and Thursdays the first three weeks of October. Sikora said if the gates are open, visitors should park, and ask questions of the fishery staff. Heads up, the operation can be a little messy and wet, and is on uneven ground.
