Tillie and Charlotte wanted to check one item off the bucket list, catch a big sturgeon! Tillie had never been fishing and was looking forward to hooking her first sturgeon. So we went on a half day outing and it didn't take long for the first bite.  With a little coaching she played the first fish like a pro and had the hang of it by the second fish.

Each fish started to get bigger than the last and her 2nd fish gave her more than a little excitement as today the fish really seemed to want to jump.  It was Charlotte's turn for the next two and they broke the one meter mark and were starting to plot how they would land a 2 meter fish!  Little did they know what was coming.

In classic style the rod bent low and the reel started to sing and sing and sing as the backing started to show.  Charlotte and Tillie hung on for dear life and I scrambled to get the anchor freed and chase the fish to regain some line.  The video shows all three of us hanging onto the rod to get the line back from the fish and about 45 minutes later we pulled the 6 ft 10 inch fish to the beach for measurement. We were at the beach for the Kodak moment when the unthinkable happened.  Just before the click of the camera the fish kicked hard and, well, escaped! There was a little blue smoke in the air after that and I must admit this had never happened to me before.  So we'll just watch the video while I think up a way to make it up to these two fine ladies.  The short day ended with 8 fish hooked including a nice 4.5 footer that breached four times and kinda took the sting out of aforesaid missque on my part......  Check out Tillies Triple Jumper on U-Tube.

The third day of the weekend saw Pete and James join me for a few hours on the river and we enjoyed a steady pace of fish just before and after the tide change.  The great thing is we caught a 45 cm and a 48 cm fish among the 12 fish landed.  Catching the small fish is actually very rare and provides important scientific data for the Fraser River White Sturgeon Conservation Society.

It shows that the fishery is recruiting new stock and much needs to be learned about the habitat and growth rates of these very smallest of the mighty sturgeon.

As always, it was a great experience with salmon and sturgeon breaching all around us this morning!

Tyler and Cassie who are newly weds had two simple objectives for the day, catch at least one sturgeon each.  As the rod bent down with the first bite of the day, their goal got off to a reel ripping start.  As has happened so many times, the first time sturgeon fishing was the charm as Tyler set the hook and the pace for the morning fishery with a 4o minute battle to bring the 209 cm. (6 ft 10 in) sturgeon to the beach.  When the sun set the day before the 200 cm fish had eluded the Danes only to be the first fish of the next morning outing with Fraser Legends Fishing! Tylers first fish vaults him to the top fish in the Bronze Class of the Fraser Legends Fishing medal class fish.  (See the Personal World Records Page)

Cassie was not to be out done and landed the next three fish with the style and determination of a seasoned sturgeon fisherman.

Tylers Mom, Ellie, is a seasoned sturgeon fisherwoman and was along to show Tyler and Cassie that she had both style and technique and landed a fish or two herself. 

It was a great day to be on the water and they will be back, they will be back!

Records were made to be broken and Bo and Martin were just the hard core fisherman from Denmark  to do it!  They had been training hard all week on the Vedder River battling spring, chum, coho and pink salmon with one objective - To catch a new personal world record sturgeon on the last day of their fishing vacation with Fraser Legends Fishing.  Even they didn't expect what was coming!

The day started well and the 6th fish in the first two hours stole line off the rod like a thief on the run.  The battle lasted almost an hour when the 192 cm (6.3 ft) fish with an 80 cm girth was finally landed.  It was just short of their 200 cm minimum personal best goal. But the fish kept coming and as the hours ticked by the numbers kept climbing and a Fraser Legends Fishing one day record of total number and total length of sturgeon caught started to look within reach.  Bo and Martin were like machines, competing with each other and with the record.  After the 21st fish of the day was landed, the record was only a few catches away and though their arms and backs were burning they pressed on and in the end, landed 23 fish with an astounding 27.5 meters total combined length of sturgeon in one day!  Not only that, five of the fish were between 5 feet and 6.3 feet and this does not count the seven addional fish that were hooked and successfully freed themselves before we could boat them, including one that surely exceeded that coveted 200 cm mark.  Well done Bo and Martin!  As the sun set, they vowed that they would be back!

Happy Thanksgiving!  The day dawned bright, clear and calm so it was perfect to take a break from the busy schedule and do a little late season ocean kayaking.  Another one of the great things to do when in Vancouver or North Vancouver is to head down to scenic Deep Cove and put your kayak into the water and paddle the local Islands in Indian Arm. 

Don't have a Kayak?  Then rent one from Deep Cove Canoe and Kayak.  See the things to do page.  

Cheers to all!

Peter

Dawn breaks on the Fraser on Thanksgiving weekend for a stellar day on the water. Heading into the fog is always a tricky venture but makes for some spectacular photographs.  Today was one of those special days for Ray and his son Colton.  It was the first time sturgeon fishing for both.

We hadn't set out the lines for more than 15 minutes when the line on the first rod screamed out.  A second rod bucked right after and the rookie sturgeon fishermen were into a 7 foot 5 inch and a 6 footer double header.  Unfortunately the 6 footer crossed the line and with the 7 foot 5 fish line screaming off the reel it sliced the line of the 6 footer and we were down to battling the 7 footer for an hour.  Now the boys are in the Fraser Legends Fishing "Silver Club" with their first sturgeon ever at 225 cm (7ft5in)!

Things didn't slow down after the 7 footer was landed as the rods continued to bounce and the fourth fish landed was over 5 feet and stripped off line like a much bigger fish and gave 3 spectacular breaches.  It still didn't slow down and six more fish were landed until the last hard bend in the rods.

Colton hooked into the 11th fish of the morning and the strain all the previous fish had put on his hands and forearms was beginning to show as he and his dad tag teamed to bring the 5.5 footer in.  Colton said he would go another round if we could go back out and hook an even dozen, but with the tide slacking and visions of thanksgiving turkey in our heads we decided to pull anchor as this was a day to be thankful for!

Greg's day on the water on Sunday afternoon started out as a bit of a sleeper with bites few and far between and he reminded me that he still thought he held my boats record for the smallest sturgeon caught. The current was fast with the tide running out but the first fish proved that his day would not be normal.  This fish more than out performed.  It was very high on energy and made two spectacular leaps and stripped out line at a speed worthy of a six footer.

As the tide slowed we got into a heavy bite and in an hour and half hooked into 9 fish including one that stripped the line in a blistering run before the barbless hook pulled out.  The biggest was well into the 6 foot range and made a spectacular marlin leap before the 90 pound test leader snapped and we let out a deep groan!  That's sturgeon fishing and despite the loss of the big one, Greg had a fantastic afternoon and a great smile on his face!  Nice fish Greg!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7Fih4rmQbA&feature=youtu.be

To see snippets of Gregs day check out the U-Tube video  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7Fih4rmQbA&feature=youtu.be