By Pete Gray

Late last year, my friend Gary Furness came back from British Columbia with amazing tales of giant river monsters, and I was intrigued.  Gary told me he and our friend Richard “Cassman” Castaneda were going again next September. and I should come along with my brother-in-law John Textoris.  I had Gary book the trip for us, but a few months later I was thinking “what the heck did I get myself into”!  Well…it turned out to be a great life experience.

Our trip started in Vancouver, BC where we rented a car and drove about 1 hour and 20 minutes east to Mission, BC. We checked in to a cozy hotel and met up with my brother in law John, who drove his motorcycle from Cleveland, OH.  (Yes- John likes doing these crazy rides).  Unlike most trips I go on, I brought no tackle as I had no idea what to expect.  As it turned out, that was the right move as Lang’s Fishing Adventures had all the right tackle for us to use.

The first day John and I met our guide, Austin at the launch ramp of the Fraser River.   At just 23 years old, he seemed young but had years of local knowledge.  Gary and Cass fished on another boat with young guide Colby.  We met Lang, owner of Lang’s Fishing Adventures at the launch ramp and he wished us luck as he headed out with his group.  The boats were very comfortable 22-foot Aluminum jet drive boats with lots of power and speed.

Our first task was to get bait, which meant heading up the giant Fraser to a tributary to catch pink salmon.  Odd years are “pink” years in BC, which is different than most parts of Alaska which are even years. Austin explained that one of the reasons September is such a great time to target giant sturgeon was getting fresh pinks for bait.  You would think that frozen or one day old pink would be fine, but he explained that freshness makes a huge difference in having a great day or just an ok day.  Sturgeons have a keen sense of smell. Our timing on the pinks was a day off, as it seemed the commercial nets went in the night before and almost choked off the run of salmon. With a bit of time and work we were able to reach our limit of 6 and head for the sturgeon holes.

Austin rigged up the rods which were Southern Cal tuna rail rods, a 40-size single speed lever drag reel with 130 pound spectra and 500 pound Dacron leader tied to a 10/0 barbless circle hook.  I guess these creatures are not line shy!  With appropriate led sinker we cast out 3 rods and waited for a bite. It didn’t take long for the rod to bend, and we were tied into a giant sturgeon.  First one to the boat was about a 7-footer or 250 pounds…a nice one but not good enough to take to the beach for photos.  Soon we had the monster 300 plus pound fish that we took to the shore and photographed and released.  We caught and released 7 sturgeons our first day, the largest being 7’ 10”.  We had several in that 6 to just shy of 8 feet and a few smaller 4 to 5 footers.  The BC fishery is 100% catch and release, and they are tough creatures and release easily.

We fished for a total of 3 days and caught and released 26 of these river dinosaurs.  Sturgeons predate the dinosaurs and are one of the oldest creatures on earth that have not changed in millions of years, and they look it! They pull very hard due to the massive size and large tail but tire much faster than tuna.  The rail and Aftco harness are your friends when fighting these tough creatures.

The target size for anglers is that 10 foot mark, which doesn’t happen often, Austin told us they commonly catch 9 plus foot fish.  Our largest was 8 foot 9 inches. Cass and Gary got one 8 foot 10 inches- both approaching 475 pounds. They also caught 26 in 3 days.

The weather was beautiful, and the scenery was spectacular.  If you have never experienced this type of fishing, I recommend you give it a try.  It is very different and fun.  Just to see and touch these living dinosaurs is truly worth the trip.

Lang’s Fishing Adventures is a great outfit, and I would highly recommend them.  The trip is super inexpensive thanks to the weak Canadian dollar…3 days fishing with 2 per boat, 4 nights and nice Best Western Plus in Mission, BC cost about $1450.  You will need to rent a car and of course add in the cost of your meals, drinks and air to Vancouver.  If you fish 3 or 4 to a boat, it is very doable and even less expensive per person.  Give it a try!