Sturgeon Fun and Education

Ertug wanted to give his friend Armondo a birthday surprise while on a trip to take their sons to a hockey tournament in Victoria. So they landed in Vancouver and got on board for a four hour trip and the November bite came on strong and kept the time on the water interesting and active. I had warned them that there were some big fish around and that they should keep good posture and that their arms might feel it by the end. And so it happened. The late October and mid November fish had been fattening up on salmon carcasses washing out from the tributary rivers after the spawn so the sturgeon have been well fed and the cooler water temperature meant they had plenty of zip when they took the bait. In the end, 7 fish in four hours was a day well spent on the water!

Bonny asked if I could take her husband Mike, their three sons and her on a Saturday sturgeon trip and they were eager to get on the water when the day arrived. The boys ranged from 4 1/8 to 9 years old and it was a perfect time for a family get together as the boys were keen anglers having pursued pink salmon and now wanting to up their game to sturgeon. The day began with some nice sized starter fish to get everyone going, including this double header. Bonny celebrated catching her own fish which didn't have a tag so she could tag it and claim to be the first person to have recorded its capture and release. The sizes picked up and they were on to a great day of sturgeon fishing. All this hard work creates an appetite and we broke out the on board barbecue and cooked up some bratwurst on buns to keep everyone's energy going. Mom took the younger brother home and the two older boys stayed on with dad to get the biggest fish of the day and claim the perpetual "Sturgeon Polka Trophy"! In other words, fun was had by all! The ride home was surprisingly quiet!

Matthew and Jacob were experienced anglers from England and they were well versed in carp fishing but they were up for some new fishing challenges so the booked a trip and came out to the New World to try out B.C.'s excellent sturgeon fishing with Fraser Legends Fishing. The day started pretty typical for summer sturgeon fishing with the tide slowing down the river in the afternoon and the fish kinda dozy with very soft bites. Then two fish were hooked in short order with one doing a self release just as Jacob got it to the boat. A second fish followed only to cross one of the other lines and also do a self release. Finally, late in the afternoon and well into "injury time" Jacob called out the "Hail Mary Rod" as we were pulling up the lines to end the day, when in fact the Hail Mary rod took a dip and Jacob set the hook. After a great breach an epic battle took place with Jacob showing fine form and somewhat huffing and puffing to get the beast to come to heal. Eventually, Jacob with help from dad got the fish under control and the fine photo opportunity resulted. Tight Lines!