STURGEON FISHING
What's the Deal
Reel in a three-metre-long dinosaur on a fishing line.
Where's is at?
The white sturgeon, North America's largest freshwater fish, is found in rivers on the Pacific coast from Alaska to California. The biggest caught to date was six metres long and weighed more than 800 kilograms. It is an ancient creature, dating back 175 million years, and its long slender body is more reptilian than fish. The main sport-fishing centres are the Fraser River and the Columbia River south of the border.
Base yourself at the resort village of Harrison Hot Springs, 129 kilometres east of Vancouver. Book a guided boat tour leaving from the lakefront and head up the Harrison River to the confluence of the Fraser, drop in a line and wait.
Be ready for a fight lasting several hours. When your biceps are burning, yell uncle and your guide will step in and lend a hand. If it's in the two-to-three-metre range, your guide will bring the boat ashore, where you'll hop into hip waders and help with measuring and tagging the sturgeon for conservation - the fishery is strictly catch and release. Get the camera ready. Grab and grin.
Who's it for?
Those with big biceps or anyone else who wants to best their buddy's salmon-fishing photos.
bcsportfishinggroup.com
www.harrisonresort.com
Darryl Leniuk
Special to The Globe and Mail