I have done a fair amount of fishing in my life. Growing up on Vancouver Island I had many options for river and lake fishing as well as the ocean.  I have even caught some pretty big fish in my time, but nothing compared to what my boys and I were about to experience.

I had never been sturgeon fishing before nor had my two boys of 11 and 16 years old, so we jumped at the opportunity when it was graciously offered to us.  I had some idea what to expect when thinking about the opportunity, but it was still an unknown and new endeavor for myself and even more so for my boys. 

As we headed out to meet with Yves Bisson, it was a picture perfect day in June, however, I wondered how the fishing would be at this time of year and with the river level on the high side.  I was also wondering how the younger of my two boys would do with such a long time on the boat and potentially going many hours without a fish if fishing was slow.  I was also a bit apprehensive since I know fishing a large and powerful river also comes with some dangers for those who don’t know what they are doing. 

We met Yves and were kindly greeted and invited to climb aboard.  From the moment we jumped on the boat, we had a great time and knew we were in good hands from safety to hospitality to knowledge of everything needed. Yves is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to fishing the Fraser, knowing it like the back of his hand and of course knowing all about sturgeon.  I was also really impressed with the great respect and care Yves shows for these beautify creatures.

And it didn’t take long.  Within the first hour, we had hooked into a monster sturgeon of the Fraser – and it was only the first of several!  Each of us took a turn, starting with my eldest son, then myself, my cousin and we waited for the possibility of a smaller one for my youngest son (who was concerned about getting pulled straight into the water by a big one!).  As if it was all planned perfectly, we all caught one (in addition to losing a few), my eldest son, myself, and my cousin, each of which blew my previous largest catch record (40 lb. salmon), well out of the water.  My new biggest catch of 180 lbs and 7’3” in length, will be a hard new record to beat!  What a workout fighting this fish and what an amazing experience!  And to top it off, the last sturgeon of the day was a perfect smaller one for my youngest son to experience the catch!   Oh, and the day passed by really quickly and my youngest didn’t even have a chance to get bored. 

All around, was an amazing experience with a guide who I would highly recommend above all others.  Yves Bisson Sturgeon Co. gets a 5+ star rating from us! Thanks Yves!

Brad W.