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Author Topic: Fraser River Canyon September 15th, 2007: Adventure of a Lifetime  (Read 4413 times)

Rodney

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Fraser River Canyon September 15th, 2007: Adventure of a Lifetime
« on: September 17, 2007, 12:31:46 AM »

After fishing with IronNoggin for over a week, our friend Ross joined Mark and I for dinner a week ago before he headed to Mission for his annual sturgeon hunt with Vic and his Crew of STS Guiding Service. We reflected on our past adventures and agreed on another sturgeon trip during his stay. Known as Hardcore by IronNoggin, Ross is one of the few angling fanatics who travel the world in search of the best fishing one can possibly find. Every outing with Ross has always been memorable, so I was pretty excited to see what this year's trip would bring us.

Throughout the week, I phoned to be updated on the sturgeon fishing. It started out quiet, due to the absence of pink salmon. once the mass of pinks arrived, Ross reported dozens of catches per day. We decided to set our trip up for this past Saturday. Vic suggested that we should head to the Fraser River canyon on the the Hells Canyon Marine jetboat, to find some whitewater thrills beside some giant whites. After hearing about some past boating stories from the canyon, I was rather uneasy about it but Ross assured me that it is absolutely safe to do so.

Vic Carrao, also known as RA40 on this forum, is the owner of STS Guiding Service and has decades of Fraser Valley angling experience. Over the years, he has been instrumental on some changes in the sportfishing community. I first met him in person when he co-organized a Vedder River Cleanup with Patrice in winter 2002, where I also met Chris. A few months later, the Chilliwack Vedder River Cleanup Coalition was formed. Vic is also involved in the Fraser River white sturgeon tagging program, so a trip guided by him is also an educational one if anglers wish to learn more about sturgeon biology.

Since we were taking the big boat, I decided to invite two Danish exchange students at UBC to join us for the trip. Svend is a friend of Nina's and Magda goes to the same university as the two of them. Both have never caught a fish before. By mixing together a diverse group, it would only make those bite-waiting times more interesting. Little did I know, we were not expecting much waiting time.

A quick greeting by Vic at 8:00am, we were off. We decided to make a couple of stops before some whitewater runs to see if we could connect with a fish or two. We rigged three rods up with either old salmon flesh or roe sacs, which are major food sources for white sturgeon this time of the year. The silence in the canyon was interrupted by pink salmon splashing in the shallows once awhile. About 15 minutes after anchoring, the tip of two rods began bouncing lightly, something was sniffing down there. The constant quick tugs suggested that northern pikeminnows were taking advantage of this underwater buffet. Vic said there could be dozens of species feeding on a piece of bait at any given time. Once awhile, a slow downward motion of the tip indicated the presence of a sturgeon. After a couple of misses by Vic and Ross, a big fish surfaced and made a loud kick with its tail. "That was our fish...", Vic mumbled.





Another ten minutes went by, suddenly Ross jumped up during our conversation, grabbed one of the rods and yanked it over his head. No reeling was needed, that line was already peeling off the spool. Ross handed the rod to Svend, who surely didn't know what he was getting himself into. Mark and I knew, so we were already hiding in the back, making sure that rod did not end up in our hands. ;D The fish continued to ram like a freight train. At about 200 feet out from our boat, it finally emerged and gave us the classic jump. The look on Svend and Magda's faces was priceless, as if they had just seen a monster. Actually, they did.



With Vic's guidance, Svend started to get a hang of it. Many people think fighting a sturgeon is simply a strength test, that is quite false. In fact, to successfully conquer a sturgeon, one needs to focus on its every move. During the first half of Svend's fight, this fish was in full control. It towed him around and seemed to be unaware that it was hooked. Vic said, "Wait until it wakes up." Sure enough, once some pressure was put on, that fish was mad. For every ten feet we gained, it gained twenty more feet. To make things easier, we decided to chase it with the boat. After about 30 minutes, it finally got close to the beach. Svend handed the rod back to the hook-setter so he could put on a pair of waders. The 7+ feet long sturgeon was eventually beached, tagged, measured and posed with the happy first timer. This is a rather big fish for Svend's first ever! Most people start out with minnows. ;D



After our "warm-up", it was time for a ride. Vic went through some safety instructions and we put on our lifejackets. Without knowing what was ahead of us, I was quite excited yet anxious. The ride mostly involved fast planing on the surface in the wider sections. There were several narrow sections where huge rapids were found. Some sections were not passable awhile ago according to Vic. It amazed me how small the rapids looked from far away. The actual size of the holes and falls dwarfed my estimations. The jet and its pilot performed flawlessly, even though at times my heart dropped a beat for a split second whenever the boat went airborne silently. The thrilling ride lasted about 1.5 hours, which ended just below Hells Gate.





On our way down we anchored and fished several spots. It took only minutes before we hooked up at the first spot. Vic handed the rod to Magda, who seemed so eagerly to fight a fish after seeing Svend's catch. ;) That eagerness didn't really last long. ;D The rod was bent to its limit and this fish was diving furiously. At 70 feet deep, she was not going to get this fish up in a hurry.





After about ten minutes, her arms gave up, despite of how hard she wanted to pull it up. The rod was then handed to Mark, who fought the fish for another ten minutes and just couldn't make the fish come up. This fish was determined to anchor itself to the bottom. It towed Mark from the right, to the left, back to the right, then to the left of the boat the whole time while it stayed directly under the boat.



Helplessly, he handed the rod to the sturgeon king. Ross held onto the rod and showed it who the boss really was. He cranked the drag up, powered the rod up, and started gaining line in no time. We were pretty impressed. Within minutes, a 6 feet long sturgeon surfaced. Judging by its strength, this fish was a lot smaller than we expected!



Once again we measured, tagged and got the visitors a couple of photos with the fish.





It seemed like a shore break was needed after every fish. No one was in a hurry to go through that again.



Well, except me, the photographer, the cameraman, the one who had been avoiding fighting a sturgeon. Vic said, "You're next Rod!"
« Last Edit: September 17, 2007, 11:28:52 AM by Rodney »
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Rodney

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Re: Fraser River Canyon September 15th, 2007: Adventure of a Lifetime
« Reply #1 on: September 17, 2007, 12:32:24 AM »

The rods went out to the same spot, I took a bite of my sandwich, then Vic set the hook a few minutes later. He handed me the rod while the fish was running. ::) I grabbed the rod, got jerked forward and remembered why I prefer to be at the other end of the camera. Luckily it was a smaller fish, or seemed like it. After a short sporatic run, it caved in and I was able to gain plenty of line in a short time. It was swimming towards me of course, who am I kidding? As soon as pressure was tighten again, it dove for the deep just like the previous fish. i sat down, but apparently that was not allowed. :P I stood up again, pegged the rod butt to my thigh so I wasn't going to end up with these circular bruises on my abdomen. With two hands above the reel, it was like back at the gym as I slowly pulled the rod up. After fiften minutes or so of tugging, out came my minnow. ;D



Like all other fish, it was measured for tagging record.



Here is a close-up of its feeding aparatus. The jaw protrusion is one of many unique morphological features of white sturgeon.



Once my fish was released, we decided to give the spot one more try. Again, the fourth fish came just minutes after the bait settled. Magda was given the rod again, to see if she could land one on her own. After watching the other guys doing it a few times, she finally had the technique dialed. The rod lift and reel down motion were perfect. We all agreed that this fish was going to be landed by her, she she certainly did.





It was a smaller fish, but at 5 feet and 5 inches, it is a fish of a lifetime for many people.



The small tag was inserted via a needle through the back of its head. This is a marking that can determine the fish's migratory pattern, which provides us better understanding on the Fraser River white sturgeon population.



With three fish successfully landed, it was time to make a move. We stopped by another spot, where Ross hooked and landed a smaller fish with ease. The last stop of the day was the highlight of the entire trip. We had the most classic bite of a big sturgeon on Vic's rod. The small quivering of the tip eventually turned into a gradual rod dive in the holder. As soon as that happened, Vic set the hook cleanly, turned around and gave the rod to Svend. Like his first fish, it took us for a long ride even though Svend had now picked up the proper fighting technique.



It performed three sensational leaps in front of us. Just when we thought it was going to give itself up by the boat everytime, it went for another long run. Sweat beads could be seen coming down Svend's forehead, the guy was gasping for air! Vic eventually guided the boat to an easy landing site when the fish surfaced for the last time.



It measured 7 feet 4 inches in length, just a couple of inches longer than the first fish, but its girth measurement was around ten inches longer!



With the guide and three guests posing with a trophy catch, this trip could not have ended better. :)





Many thanks to Vic for providing what I would consider an adventure of a lifetime, which not many get to experience. Fall is indeed a fantastic time to sturgeon fish. If you've never tried it, you should consider doing so at least once. It's not just the fishing, but all other aspects that are hard to explain unless you have been there. It is no wonder this continues bringing Ross back every fall. Until next year! :)
« Last Edit: September 17, 2007, 12:40:32 AM by Rodney »
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troutbreath

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Re: Fraser River Canyon September 15th, 2007: Adventure of a Lifetime
« Reply #2 on: September 17, 2007, 07:27:15 AM »

Great post Rod, one of the best :) I got tired arms just reading it.
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another SLICE of dirty fish perhaps?

Jonny 5

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Re: Fraser River Canyon September 15th, 2007: Adventure of a Lifetime
« Reply #3 on: September 17, 2007, 08:42:12 AM »

Excellent story!  Nice fish!  REALLY cool boats.
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fishersak

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Re: Fraser River Canyon September 15th, 2007: Adventure of a Lifetime
« Reply #4 on: September 17, 2007, 08:43:27 AM »

Geez....my back is sore!!! ::)....not to mention my arms!

Next year...I'm gonna train for the trip :D
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gman

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Re: Fraser River Canyon September 15th, 2007: Adventure of a Lifetime
« Reply #5 on: September 17, 2007, 10:22:31 AM »

Great read Rod!

I went out with Vic once in the spring near Mission and it was a really good day, but a fall trip up the canyon sounds awesome.

I'll have to consider that - but better get in shape first.  :D
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mr.pink

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Re: Fraser River Canyon September 15th, 2007: Adventure of a Lifetime
« Reply #6 on: September 17, 2007, 12:44:51 PM »

  looks like a great time,nice pics to,cheers.
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Zpg

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Re: Fraser River Canyon September 15th, 2007: Adventure of a Lifetime
« Reply #7 on: September 17, 2007, 12:51:20 PM »

Great Post Rodney!!

Makes me want to get back on the river right away....have to play hookey from work one day this week...
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There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.  ~Steven Wright

THE_ROE_SLINGER

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Re: Fraser River Canyon September 15th, 2007: Adventure of a Lifetime
« Reply #8 on: September 17, 2007, 04:19:29 PM »

Those are some real monstors! Sure beats those pinks ey rodney ;D
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weeeeeeeeeow!

Rodney

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Re: Fraser River Canyon September 15th, 2007: Adventure of a Lifetime
« Reply #9 on: September 17, 2007, 04:45:03 PM »

Geez....my back is sore!!! ::)....not to mention my arms!

Next year...I'm gonna train for the trip :D

And some training is definitely needed. ;D



Here's a sneak preview of some of the jetboat ride video clips coming soon.

Fish Assassin

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Re: Fraser River Canyon September 15th, 2007: Adventure of a Lifetime
« Reply #10 on: September 17, 2007, 04:56:30 PM »

Sure don't want to be in that boat when the engines conk out. :D
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Blackrt03

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Re: Fraser River Canyon September 15th, 2007: Adventure of a Lifetime
« Reply #11 on: September 17, 2007, 05:52:52 PM »

awesome post Rod,

                    Would love to try that out someday.Sound like you had a great time.
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Sam Salmon

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Re: Fraser River Canyon September 15th, 2007: Adventure of a Lifetime
« Reply #12 on: September 17, 2007, 07:17:23 PM »

Great post Rod your best yet!

From the video a person can see that Vic is a smart safe driver with a terrific boat.

I've rafted the Canyon-it's a helluva place with a long and interesting history.
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Steelhawk

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Re: Fraser River Canyon September 15th, 2007: Adventure of a Lifetime
« Reply #13 on: September 17, 2007, 11:50:02 PM »

Thanks for the great post of a memorable trip. Need to shape up for such huge beasts though. Congrats.
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Rodney

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Re: Fraser River Canyon September 15th, 2007: Adventure of a Lifetime
« Reply #14 on: September 21, 2007, 01:19:45 PM »

Subscribers, there is now a 11 minute video series available for you featuring a portion of this trip. Two clips are available. First one has Vic explaining the techniques used, while second one features Svend fighting his first ever fish and a look at how tagging is done. Click on the image below to view. Enjoy!