Fresh Fraser River Fishing Reports

When Alexandra called and asked if sturgeon fishing would be good for a 3 year old and a 6 year old I said, sure, if they also want to run and play and have a picnic on a secluded sandy beach with river water for wading or swimming! So that is how we broke of our 4 hour trip on a sunny August morning. One hour of fishing before lunch, then a short scenic river cruise to a sandy beach spot, followed by a picnic lunch and because it was during the Olympics we set up a 30 meter dash complete with a start and finish line marked in the sand and the foot races were on. Seems like the 3 year old and 6 year old always won, but just by a whisker! Fishing can be fun for the whole family and we have a great outdoors to play in. And oh, by the way, then we went back to fishing and they caught two sturgeon, one of which we tagged and the other was tagged. A great way to wrap up the day on the water....... Tight lines~

July was a hot, sunny month in Vancouver with no rain recorded at all until the 29th! And the salmon fishing has been pretty hot too! The sunny skies and solid to spectacular action on coho salmon certainly made this a month to remember. Also, in the past week, catches of bigger chinook salmon have started to fill in nicely as well, which is normal for this time of year as we enter our “big fish” season of Aug/Sept. Lots of sunshine, screaming reels, double-headers and spectacular salmon returns to the Vancouver area have us looking forward to another terrific summer of salmon fishing! Summer spots book up fast so be sure to reserve your spot early!

Adriane and Mac had to change plans when the winds blew up on the salt water so they decided to try a last minute sturgeon trip. It all worked out as the fish co-operated, except for "Mr. Big" who gave Mac a great tug of war till he snapped the 100 lb line. Likely due to the sharp scutes of a previous fish that had nicked the line. Anyways, here's what Adriane had to say about the day... Hi Peter! Thank you for your email. I will absolutely pass your contact along to anyone and everyone I know that is interested in sturgeon fishing. The fishing has been my favorite part of the trip and I’ve attached a few pics. The ones with Mac and our big fish came out a little better. I like the ones with me and the little guy best anyways. Thank you again so much for a memorable and informative trip! I really do feel like we lucked out finding you and I appreciate how much you really care for the fish and the health of the environment. Warmly, Adriane

Squeezing in a four hour morning trip so they could catch their cruise ship to Alaska in the afternoon, Dominic, his mom Jennifer and father Brian got up before sunrise and joined me on the Fraser River for some sturgeon fishing. They knew that the tides were not really in their favour but they buckled down and had the patience and fortitude to make a day of it. The first fish was a line peeler and Dominic and his dad worked hard to get it to the boat and just before we could get to measure it, the fish pulled off a "Self Release". Dominic got 95% of the thrill anyways. Some patience paid off as we looked for better spots, evaded a tugboat and barge and landed a 4 footer and a rare 45 cm fish. This little fish is the sturgeon fishing future and I am grateful they came on board to help me build up our sturgeon data inventory. Well done, and "Off to Alaska!" now. Cheers, Peter Jennifer Kovach Unique, informative, and enjoyable Went fishing on Jul 16, 2024 ________________________________________ Our family of 3 booked this fishing charter the morning before we got on a cruise ship. Peter was fantastic from the moment we booked. His communication was great and we had a game plan for the morning. Peter is a fascinating research scientist and a wealth of information. We really enjoyed hearing about his vast knowledge of the rivers and fish in the area. Our 14 year old son really enjoyed not only catching the sturgeon, but also tagging and measuring the fish. It made for a truly unique experience. We highly recommend spending a day with Peter on the water.

When Carrie called and said that they were coming for a 2nd visit to Canada and wanted to take a crack at redemption after breaking off a monster fish two years ago. She was determined to have some extra help as her 14 year old son was out for summer holidays and as he put it, "The biggest fish I ever caught was 8 lbs". Well this morning the fish didn't wait and I wasn't even through giving instructions as to what to do if a fish bites when rod #3 hammered down and the battle was on. The first fish took us 45 minutes to get to shore when it found a snag to wrap around and broke itself off. Undaunted we went out again and a few hours later when the tide finally changed in our favor that blessed fishing chaos of "the bite" ensued. Three of the four rods started bouncing, and we quickly landed a 3 footer, then pulled in a 5 ft 9" after a very feisty battle for a boat side release. That left rod #3 with Mr. Big on the line which I estimated to be in the 7 ft. range. Thankfully, Mr. Big went into a bottom sulk and didn't give us any grief till we began to retrieve in that line. Then all He__ broke loose! After almost an hour of muscle wrenching sweat our Austin team landed their fish and photo of a life time. Harry's largest fishing experience went from 8 lbs to 7 ft 7 inches (232 cm) and 227 lbs (104 kg) As Harry's mom said later, "This was our second visit out with Peter to the Fraser River to try and hook some monster sturgeons, this time with our 14 year-old son along for the adventure! We unbelievably were able to hook three "shore fish" (Sturgeon over 5 ft (1.35 m) long), land two of them, and after an epic battle bring the 7 ft 7" one to land! Peter’s expertise, incredible patience and love of this amazing creature makes the whole experience unforgettable. We look forward to the next adventure whenever our paths cross again! Cheers - Carrie from Austin, TX

White sturgeon 7’6”