New PB - 112 X 47
Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2016 12:23 pm
We did a guided sturgeon trip on the Frasier river last week. It's something my brother and I have talked about in the past and the stars finally aligned for us. Our guide explained the finer points to us during the 15 minute run out to the spot. I guess he was convinced we knew how to fish - he told us he would set the hook on the first one, then we were on our own after that.
I'm watching him bait the 3 lines - 1st one gets two good sized strips of fresh salmon. 2nd one gets a giant salmon head and the 3rd one gets a couple of smaller strips of salmon. Just as I'm thinking I want that middle rod to go off, the guide says "If we get a hit on the middle rod, hang on - it will be a monster". 20 minutes later we get a bite on that rod. Nibble would be a better description - just a tap tap. He slams the rod back but misses. Damm! A couple of minutes later - same thing - another miss. On the 3rd hit, he sets the hook hard, hands me the rod and it's game on. I can barely move the fish but seem to be making progress. Just as I'm thinking I've got control, the guide tells me the fish doesn't even know it's hooked yet. Right on que - massive head shakes and it peels off 100 yards of line and I'm hanging on for dear life. A quick look back and the guide is nowhere to be found - he's up at the front of the boat disconnecting from the anchor - "We're going to have to chase this one" he says - it's big.
My brother and I team up to fight the fish for about an hour - 9'4" of sturgeon on the beach for pictures.
An epic day and it's only 9:30. Back to the same spot. We are flying solo now - the guide lets us know when, but we are setting the hook and fighting the fish. We hook and land a couple under 4 feet and just shake them off at the boat. I'm next up and set the hook into a 7 footer. A few minutes into the fight the guide says "watch this". The fish races to the surface and jumps completely out of the water - 3 times. It took about 40 minutes to get it to the boat. There are regulations about taking sturgeon out of the water. A fish this size needs to go to shore to be landed but we're pros now so we release it at the boat and don't even take pictures.
An epic day is now off the charts and it's still not even noon. We change spots a couple of times and settle in close to where we've seen another boat hook a 7 footer. It took about an hour, but the big bait rod went off again. I set the hook into what felt like a small automobile and it goes crazy. Head shakes, charging left, then right. I pass it to my brother and an hour later, our second 9 footer (9'1") is on the beach.
At this point the guide is losing his sh*t. He's never landed two 9 footers in the same day and is pretty happy to have bragging rights on his boss.
The other boat close to us hooked a very large fish (over 10 according to our guide) and fought it for over 2 hours. At that point they tried to muscle the fish and snapped their rod. Over the coarse of 6 hours, we've caught over 25 feet of sturgeon and seen another 17 feet landed/fought from the boat beside us.
This was the trip of a lifetime !!
I'm watching him bait the 3 lines - 1st one gets two good sized strips of fresh salmon. 2nd one gets a giant salmon head and the 3rd one gets a couple of smaller strips of salmon. Just as I'm thinking I want that middle rod to go off, the guide says "If we get a hit on the middle rod, hang on - it will be a monster". 20 minutes later we get a bite on that rod. Nibble would be a better description - just a tap tap. He slams the rod back but misses. Damm! A couple of minutes later - same thing - another miss. On the 3rd hit, he sets the hook hard, hands me the rod and it's game on. I can barely move the fish but seem to be making progress. Just as I'm thinking I've got control, the guide tells me the fish doesn't even know it's hooked yet. Right on que - massive head shakes and it peels off 100 yards of line and I'm hanging on for dear life. A quick look back and the guide is nowhere to be found - he's up at the front of the boat disconnecting from the anchor - "We're going to have to chase this one" he says - it's big.
My brother and I team up to fight the fish for about an hour - 9'4" of sturgeon on the beach for pictures.
- sturgeon_1.jpg (66.77 KiB) Viewed 5132 times
An epic day is now off the charts and it's still not even noon. We change spots a couple of times and settle in close to where we've seen another boat hook a 7 footer. It took about an hour, but the big bait rod went off again. I set the hook into what felt like a small automobile and it goes crazy. Head shakes, charging left, then right. I pass it to my brother and an hour later, our second 9 footer (9'1") is on the beach.
- sturgeon_4.jpg (50.47 KiB) Viewed 5132 times
The other boat close to us hooked a very large fish (over 10 according to our guide) and fought it for over 2 hours. At that point they tried to muscle the fish and snapped their rod. Over the coarse of 6 hours, we've caught over 25 feet of sturgeon and seen another 17 feet landed/fought from the boat beside us.
This was the trip of a lifetime !!
.