My biggest fish—ever! A giant white sturgeon

I’m way too tired after four days of skiing in Whistler and three days of fishing out of Harrison Hot Springs, B.C., to blog much right now. However, I do have to report that, as of today, I’ve finally caught a fish bigger than me—way bigger, in fact. How big? Seven feet seven inches long, to be exact. And what strong fish these white sturgeon are. By the end of the 26-minute battle with my huge specimen, my already troubled lower back was on fire and my arms were really starting to fee the strain.

You really can’t give these creatures time to rest, or they’ll just peel back any line you manage to gain on them. Four or five times my fish took giant runs and I had to start the reeling-in process all over again. I was admittedly glad when I finally got the monster to the Fraser River’s sandy shoreline, but what a reward. And as it turned out, my fish had never been caught, tagged and released before—a virgin sturgeon, so to speak. Pretty special.

Thanks again to Tony Nootebos, president of B.C. Sportfishing Group, for the great guiding and hospitality—and, of course, for putting my fishing buddy, Ted Cawkell, and me on the fish. I’ll be writing all about this latest fishing adventure, as well as the conservation efforts behind the Fraser’s catch-and-release sturgeon fishery, in an upcoming issue of Outdoor Canada magazine.