Landon and his mom Sandy booked a trip on Landon's Friday off school and the soon to be 7 year old was able to show me his impressive fishing skills!  When we hooked this fish, Landon took over the rod and did the pump and reel technique to perfection and landed his first and thus personal world record sturgeon.

The rod had a pretty good bend in it and the fish took a few runs before Landon got it under control and got it to the swim platform so I could get it into the sling.

Landon scanned the sturgeon and it didn't have a tag so he watched as I gave it one and then we measured it.  Landon is now the youngest "citizen scientist" to have landed a sturgeon on my boat.  He helped coach mom as she landed another one and so ended a pretty special day on the water.  I think Landon might adopt this sturgeon by subscribing to the Fraser River White Sturgeon society adoption program. Tight lines Folks!

September and October 2023 has been a season of great sturgeon action with a serious number of big fish in the river feasting on the salmon run.  That has made it great fun for the guests who have come from all over the world to share this conservation experience.  I want to thank my guests for their help with our tagging program and the great adventure days we have shared.  Nov. may be chilly but it can bring on some of the best fishing as the water cools and the sturgeon bulk up on the last of the drifting salmon carcasses.  Makes for some interesting days on the water.  Hope to connect with more of you in the near future!  Tight lines everyone.

Adam and Anita came out for a 6 hour trip this week and after 45 minutes of wondering if the fish would show up, they turned up in a big and fun way.  After two good starter fish the #1 Rod geared up for Mr. Big started to bounce.  Adam learned what "Arm Burn" feels like and he thought the fight time was much longer based on the soreness of his arms!  However they landed and help me tag this 6.5 footer and then went on to more!

Another Mr. Big grabbed the Mr. Little line ( we also fish with small hooks to try and tag juvenile sturgeon) and by the way the rod bent down Adam knew he was into a big fish.  However, size matters and the big guy straigtened out the hook and did a "self release".  This is all part of the day.  All's well that ends well and in the last minute of the day a nice 4.5 footer reminded Adam that his arms were still sore and would be even more so!  A good day was had by all.  Tight lines everyone.

It's April and the spring sturgeon bite is heating up.  Mike and Sarah joined me for two 8 hour trips and they were not disappointed as no sooner had we anchored on the first morning when the flood tide bite started up.  Their first day was learning the tricks of the trade and they picked up some nice fish ending the day with one just over six feet long.  When I took them to a spot where I said they might end up with a bull trout, no sooner said then Mike hooked a 12 pounder which fought like a four foot sturgeon!

On day two we were able to zero in on the fish a bit earlier and picked up four in the morning and seven in the evening tide.  They invested in the 8 hour tide which allowed us to find the fish and utilize the best fishing during the flood.

They also had a unique day, seeing black tail deer, a black bear, a river otter and the ever present seals and a few bald eagles.  We even had a sturgeon we caught twice in twenty minutes and confirmed it with a unique micro chip tag!  Both of them went home with sore arm muscles and smiles.  They hope to come back in late September to challenge the fall migration of large fish.

If you are patient and can tolerate being in a heated cabin on board my jet boat you might just connect with a "one percenter" such as this 7 ft 10 inch beauty.  As the water cools the sturgeon gorge on the last available salmon scraps before heading into their winter lairs.

And even if the day is slow you might just hook into a "Hail Mary" fish on the last minute of the day to make a fishing memory that will last a lifetime.

So if you wear a smile and enjoy the cool crisp weather, you might just break out in a sweat when the rod tip takes a deep bend

And I get to coach you on how to make it a great photo op!..  Tight lines everyone.

On monday, Samanta and her son Oscar joined me for a sunny day on the Fraser River on a hunt for the elusive great white sturgeon.  Samanta and Oscar are familiar with catching fish in their community in England but had never had the opportunity to catch a Fraser River White Sturgeon until today.

They arrived ready for action and were keen to get on the water and try this new fishing style.  After the short orientation, we were out on the river and ready for action.

And the sturgeon did not disappoint.  We had barely set up at the first location and the rods began their telltale sturgeon dance.

After the day on the water, Samantha kindly wrote back;

" Wow what an amazing day we had. Peter met us at the Sea bus terminal in North Vancouver and chauffeured us directly to the Fraser river. Within a matter of minutes we were safely launched and off on our 4 hr adventure. My son caught his 1st fish after just 8 minutes!!

As Peter supports the Fraser river sturgeon conservation society we became citizen scientists for the day and helped with tagging, measuring and health checks before release. Peter was so knowledgeable on everything related to Sturgeon, the Fraser river and the need for conservation, we learnt so much and will definitely book again when we next visit BC.  We were provided with life jackets, all rods and tackle, drinks and even home made cherry muffins!  I would highly recommend."

Oscar helped out with the measuring and tagging and Samantha recorded the data.  Now these newly marked fish will be registered and Oscar and Samantha's names will be recorded as the first to capture these fish.  Oscar gave them each a pet name of "Gerald", "Peter" and "David"...... They will follow these fish by going to the Fraser River White Sturgeon Conservation Society web site and formally adopting them. 

https://www.frasersturgeon.com/adopt-a-sturgeon/ 

Then they can track their life history and find out if/when/where they are ever caught again.

Thanks Samantha and Oscar, it was indeed a fine day!

Cheers

Peter

Brandon, Evan and Bryan treated their Dad Sheldon for his birthday by booking a 4 hour trip.  Having not caught any sturgeon before, they were literally in for a "Big Surprise".  I think Brandon's arms are still aching from first rip of line off the real to the end of the the half hour plus battle.  But the smiles and fist pump tell it all. 

We were able to successfully bring this fish (just a hair shy of 7 feet with a 31 inch girth) to shore, check the tags and measure body size for registration in our records in the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society.  As this fish was a re-capture, Dad Sheldon is going to the FRSCS web site to perhaps adopt the fish they caught today and look up their life histories.  Great job guys and glad to have had you aboard.....Tight lines!


Brandon " Peter was super awesome and very knowledgeable. Knew what he was doing. I would definitely recommend him to anyone who wants to catch fish and learn about the local fishing." 

Julian's Biggest of the day, 7 feet 6 inches.  Apparently he needed a massage and liniment that evening.

I took the day off and went solo.....7 feet 9 inches....where were you when I needed you!

First fish of the day and 14 more after that.  They all got a real workout.

Join us for a great day on the water and support or sturgeon conservation and recovery programs while having an experience of a lifetime!

Always great to get out on the water.  On this day Bob invited his buddy Steve out for a day of fishing with me and neither had ever caught a sturgeon before.  I warned them that I am not responsible for chiropracter or physiotherapist appointments and normally when I take Newby's out we catch a big fish or two and today sure did not disappoint.

The first fish of the day were respectable starter fish that warmed bob up to and was into his 4th fish before Steve connected.  But what a fish Steve connected with!

And what a bruiser Steve's first fish was!  A full 6 ft 10 inches it breached three times putting on a spectacular show before giving Steve a workout he was not expecting.  We had some great laughs as the sweat was pouring down Steve's face and it took about 40 minutes to bring this great white sturgeon to the shore.  Both Steve and Bob were over the top with excitement as they were able to pose with memories of a lifetime!

Steve followed up with another great fish which seemed a lot bigger as the 6'10" had taken a bit of the steam out of Steve's muscles.  There was also some interesting activity as the Coast Guard hovercraft steamed by.  Not your everyday Fraser River boat by any stretch.

The boys were on fire and in total could have hooked up to 18 fish, but at least they got 9 to the boat on an epic fishing day.   I just want to say that it was Bob that both came and went with the hardware of the day.

Bob was an Afghan war vet whose career was cut short after a helicopter accident broke a number of vertebrae in his back.  Bob went through some tough times to serve his country and fellow Canadians but he was back in fighting form today as the sturgeon gave him all the workout he could handle! 

As we near this Remembrance Day season let's all take time to thank our Veterans and first responders for the sacrifices they make for us every day.  If you know a Veteran who would enjoy a day on the water, drop me a line at peterk12@live.com

Our salute today goes to Bob who wins both the covetted Fraser Legends Fishing "Spidy Award" for capturing the smallest fish but also perpetual trophy for the most fish of the day for our Fraser River White Sturgeon Conservation project where in 2020 we are looking to catch and tag as many of the smallest and least understood sturgeon.  Our research is showing that recruitment of small sturgeon seems to be declining and we don't know why.  Coming out on a trip like this and using small special gear will help us find these little guys and tag them for the cause of fisheries science.

Thanks for the laughs and the adventure guys, we hope to see you on Big Blue again chasing the great white sturgeon of the Fraser River basin.

​Peter K. Krahn

And you thought it was snowing too hard to go fishing.  Kyle, Luke and Pete didn't think so and were handsomely rewarded with 5 fish including the last one at 6 feet on the nose!   Give me a call and lets get on the water! 778 870 3241