Someone caught a sturgeon on the Fraser today

Back to reality. There was a run on Barnston Island today so instead of taking the ferry we took the kayaks over. It's 9.8 Km around the Island. I hadn't been there since I was a kid. I didn't do the run. I just walked up to Robert Point and back. 

When we first put in I saw a huge splash on the other side of the river and I was like woah what was that? I turned my head and the ferry was docked right beside me. I looked back and there were no boats any where near it. I thought maybe it was a seal because it was such a large splash.

Evidently the Salmon are running and today is the first day of recreational fishing. We saw a few salmon jump and did see a couple of seals. On the way back we paddled upstream half way to Mann Point then drifted back again. 

We saw a guy on a boat hook a fish. After he hooked it, the fish jumped right out of the water and I was like holy f*ck. That's the biggest salmon I've ever seen. I was like what is that? It's too small to be a sturgeon but way too big to be a salmon. 

Turns out it was a sturgeon. They had a stretcher on the side of the boat to haul it in without injuring it as sturgeon are protected and it's just catch and release. You reel it in, take a picture and let it go. Zoom in on the pictures. It was bigger than I thought. 

80 inches - 6' 8". It was huge. That's the first time I've seen a sturgeon in real life. They said it was the forth one they caught that day. That guide knew what he was doing. Usually those charters are like whale watching. They're hit and miss. 

Sometimes you don't see any or catch any. Four in one day is unusual. I asked if they come for the salmon and he said yes but he said they're always in the river. You just don't see them.