The guys came with their wives and children to combine the sturgeon fishing with family holidays and sightseeing of British Columbia, so, the first days of our trip were devoted to conventional tourism.

Vancouver is famous for its mild climate, excellent restaurants, and various sights. We stayed at a 5* hotel in the city center. We came to the hotel, left our things there, and went to an excellent Japanese restaurant. Then we had a sightseeing tour around the city. Vancouver is well known for the urban planning as the balance between modern buildings and nature is maintained perfectly here, there are a lot of plants and trees growing throughout the city and there are many beaches.

We visited an unusual park with the system of wooden suspension bridges going among the tops of giant trees. The system of small bridges connects 200-meter fir-trees and gives guests the opportunity to enjoy nature from an unusual angle.

In the evening we visited the International Firework Festival Final and watched the incredible show in the sky over Vancouver.

The best way to watch fireworks is to have dinner on one of the ships cruising around the bay. The ships usually stop right in the “stalls” of the firework show. The Disney firework did not disappoint us, and we came back to the hotel late at night.

The next day we went to Victoria Island and Butchart Gardens.

It is impossible to find words to describe all the diversity of fragrant flower beds, endless lawns, fountains, brooks, and trees from all over the world. Even men who are usually restrained admired the park and appreciated its fairy beauty.

On the 3rd day of our stay in Canada we went to a lodge by car. The interior of the lodge was made in the country style, natural materials were prevailing. In the living room of the lodge there was a copy of a huge sturgeon caught here. A herd of buffaloes was grazing in the meadow in front of the lodge adding even more tranquility and unity with nature to our state of bliss.

After excellent dinner we went to our rooms to gain strength before our forthcoming fishing.

Our story was developing successively and the number of trophies grew day by day. The first fishing was a kind of warming-up. Everyone got acquainted with the tackle, explored the water area and was watching the behavior of the first three sturgeons caught. The baits were also paid attention to. We tried not to stay long in the same place. Having explored a small section of the river, we tried to mark the best fishing spots which would bring us a cherished trophy in the future. As there were young anglers among us, from 8 to 17 years old, we tried to give them enough time to enjoy their first catches and get used to the tackle.

Oleg’s family boat: 181 cm (caught by Danila), 182 cm (caught by Irina), 221 cm (caught by Danila), 199 cm (caught by Oleg),

Maxim’s family boat: 189 cm, 120 cm, 110 cm, 137 cm, 124 cm, 160 cm specimens were caught, but unfortunately there is no information about who caught this or that trophy.

Of course, not all the trophies were huge, but we caught a few real monsters within the three days of our fishing. Actually, each angler got a significant trophy of more than 2 meters long, and the lucky ones caught several magnificent sturgeons.

The next day we came to the river with a completely different attitude. We had thought our fishing tactics through. We started fishing in the place where we had been fishing the day before. There was a large pit with a whirlpool under the rocky shore, and the main current was under the opposite shore.

We used an echo sounder and detected more than 20 large fish in the pit. We did not hesitate to anchor. We stopped at the beginning of the promising section of the river to have the opportunity to fish in the whole pit and its exit. Bubbling whirlpools on the surface suggested that there were large stone boulders at the bottom. This kind of bottom relief attracted the fish. We used spinning rods and the first strike occurred in less than a minute. Maxim’s daughters (Katya and Karina) were good at fighting small sturgeons and even managed to take aboard two fish which struck the same bait. These “babies” turned out to be special.

The sturgeon population is protected by the “catch-and-release” principle and the number of the fish in this full-flowing river is recorded. There is a special chip in the body of each sturgeon containing all the information about the fish and having a special number. It is implanted in the dorsal fin and does not cause any trouble. When the fish is caught, it is possible to get all the information about it with the help of a special reader. Practically all the boats have it. All the sturgeons we had caught before had already had such a chip, but these “babies” about 1 meter long were caught for the first time. It took our guide a minute to implant chips and we let our guests go.

The strikes followed one after another and we decided to stay in this place. We had caught a few small and medium sturgeons before a worthy fish struck. But the thing we liked most of all was the fish jumping out of the water.

Sometimes these giant river monsters completely flew out of the water and then with a deafening blow and a fountain of spray came back into the water. We were delighted! That was a real show! And by the way, there was a sturgeon 2 m 18 cm long on the hook.

The sturgeon can be caught with different live baits. The aim is to deliver it in the right place and keep it at the bottom. The pieces of salmon meat turned out to be the best this time. Red salmon was cut into pieces of the size of two matchboxes so that there was a part of fish skin on each piece to keep them on the hook.

The culmination of the day was a sturgeon 2 m 50 cm long caught by Danila. The boat was right at the shore when the fish struck, but thanks to the skill and quick reaction of our guide, the boat started chasing the fish. The monster was leading our boat easily. The guide sometimes helped the young angler, but he did the most of the job himself.

We’ll remember this giant for a long time. Such a fighting is quite a rare thing. After a few hundred meters, when the fish began feeling tired, it came closer.

The final phase of the fighting was on the shore, and it was the most intense, as you can see the trophy on the surface and it’s hard to believe you can cope with it. This long and persistent fighting required a lot of energy and strength, but when the sturgeon was pulled to the shore, there was no limit to our exultation. We measured the fish and our guide released it. That was the hugest sturgeon caught for all days of our fishing.

We used spinning rods with the test up to 30 oz (850 g) and fishing lines with the test of 100 lb capable of withstanding the most powerful rival. But even such tackle worked at the limit of its possibilities when the largest specimens struck.

We had also planned to go by helicopter to a mountain river. The trip to the place of fishing made our day unforgettable.

The nature of Canada is majestic. The country encompasses civilization and untouched nature. It is this versatility that makes Canada a unique country where people go to get vivid impressions and admire picturesque views.

The Indians who lived on the territory of Canada many years ago compared its mountains to stone waves stretching towards the horizon. The length of the mountains is about 5 thousand kilometers!

Going by helicopter will let you visit the most remote places and enjoy fishing in the untouched nature.

Our trophies were char and bull trout inhabiting this fast mountain river with turquoise water. Most fishermen used fly fishing technique for the first time here.

Nikita caught the largest number of fish, and I lost a real monster. I could not calm down, and I’m going to come back to the river and get an outstanding trophy of the bull trout (actually, it belongs to a char family) which can reach 14 kilos, by the way!

The advantages of fishing in Canada are excellent service and tasty food. I think that is due to the French influence on the gastronomical culture of Canada. Every day the guides cooked delicious barbecue from salmon, chicken, and meat.

Breakfasts and dinners in the lodge could compete with most restaurants, and even during our fishing in the mountain river we had an excellent barbecue cooked for us on the gas grill.

Join us next season!

Watch our video about the sturgeon fishing in Canada.