Two Albertans reeled in a once-in-a-lifetime story during a fishing trip to B.C.’s Interior.
After years of constant invites to do some catch-and-release fishing for sturgeon on the Fraser River near Lillooet, Steve Ecklund finally said yes, and hauled along friend Mark Boice.
And on Father’s Day, the two hooked a massive sturgeon that weighed 700 pounds, was 10 feet, one inch in length and had a girth of 57 inches. The massive fish was also thought to be around 110 years old.
“We’ve never sturgeon fished, never been on the Fraser River,” said Ecklund, adding he’s glad he finally took the advice of Jeff Grimolfson, who runs River Monster Adventures.
You read that right: On their very first sturgeon fishing trip, they landed a monster – potentially a record-breaking fish for the middle portion of the Fraser River.
Reached on Monday as they were driving back to Alberta, Ecklund and Boice said it took two gruelling hours to reel in the sturgeon. And the two were still excited about their adventure.
“It was pretty incredible, really,” Boice said. “To be down there (taking pictures) with it after fighting it for two hours, there were a lot of high-fives.”
They said they battled the sturgeon non-stop as it swam upstream for two kilometres, then downstream for another two km before it eventually tired out.
Asked if they knew they had hooked a big one early into the fight, Ecklund said they had no clue — until it jumped out of the water.
“The whole boat starts erupting and yelling. It was pretty shocking, to say the least,” said Ecklund, who hosts a show called The Edge on Wild TV.
“We knew it was big, but when you see the guides’ reaction, and they do this 100 days a year, when they got excited … well, we had no idea what was going on.”
Ecklund added, “it looked like Jaws coming out of the water in slow motion.”
For those who don’t fish, the sturgeon was never hauled into the boat after being caught.
Rather, it was taken close to shore, where Ecklund, Boice and the two fishing guides — Nick McCabe and Tyler Speed — took pictures with it before releasing the behemoth.
Grimolfson credited his two guides for making a memorable day, adding water levels on the Fraser are quite high, which adds to the difficulty level.
He also noted that in addition to being released, the sturgeon was also tagged, scanned and documented for the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society.
For more about sturgeon fishing in B.C., visit the province’s website.
It was also the day’s last catch, with the group having caught a half-dozen other sturgeon, albeit much smaller.
Ecklund said they measured it from tip to mid-point of the tail. Had the full tail been measured, he said it would have been 11 feet.
“During the day, we’re catching these fish. And they’re between six feet and six-foot-eight. And a guy can manage that by himself. It’s not an easy battle, but it’s a battle that can be done,” said Ecklund.
“Your arms are worn out and they feel like jelly. And then me and Mark are going ‘If we tie into an eight-footer, what are we in store for?'”
Turns out eight feet was two feet short.
“It was pretty intense; we knew we locked into a good one,” said Boice. “But when it came out of the water, it made it all real at that point.”
Ecklund said they had to double-team the effort to land the sturgeon.
Boice added: “An hour into the fight, if those guides weren’t there, we would have cut the line.”
“We both fought it for two hours straight and I can say this: It feels like we were in a helicopter crash. We are worn out. Back, stomach, groin, arms … it’s incredible,” Ecklund said.
“It’s insane. We can barely hold a Tim Hortons coffee because our arms are so sore.”
With B.C. disappearing into the rearview mirror, Ecklund said he was glad he finally said yes to Grimolfson’s requests.
“I love to fish, but, these days, I don’t get a lot of time, with doing the show and working full-time in the oil and gas industry,” said Ecklund.
“I finally just committed and me and (Boice) jumped in the truck and drove 12 hours for one day of fishing, turn around and come back. And lo and behold, we catch the record fish of all time (for the middle Fraser River).”
Ecklund was asked if he plans on returning to B.C. for more sturgeon fishing.
“On the boat, (the guides) were making jokes that this was a retirement sturgeon,” laughed Ecklund. “You may as well hang it up and pack it in. You’re done.”