A 2009 Tournament Article from Peter K. Krahn

2009 World Sturgeon Classic

“See the tip bob up and down, wait….wait….let it pull down some more” guide Greg Wolf coached Gary as the first bite came on……”HIT IT!” Greg yelled…the rod slammed back. I’ve got him, I’ve got him…HOLY S#&*&T!!... Look at him pull!” With the PENN Tournament reel screaming 150 pound braided line Gary Muchula laid into the 180 cm sturgeon. Team “Wolf Pack Canada” was into its first sturgeon which momentarily put us onto the leader board at #2 spot behind a 203 cm fish. We were only 45 minutes into the day and the 2009 World Sturgeon Classic was living up to it’s billing with top rate boats, guides and team competition for the $40,000 grand prize and a chance at a $60,000 Jet Boat.

The 2009 Tourney was the second annual event and the odds were 39:1 that any given fisherman or 9:1 that a 4 person team would pocket the forty grand first prize. If you were lucky and skilled enough it would be possible to take the 10 grand second and 5 grand third prizes. To win the boat, you had to catch and land the “mystery fish” which had 10 digit alphanumeric Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tag inserted. This was one of the 40,000 plus sturgeon that has been tagged under the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society tagging program. It was swimming somewhere between the mouth of the Harrison River and Barnston Island on the Fraser River. That meant a team could potentially win $115,000 in cash and hardware!

The tourney is an International Game Fish Association sanctioned event and this year teams and individuals from England, Italy, USA and Canada had put up $2,200 plus tax per person. Not for the financially faint of heart, but it included three days hotel accommodation at the Best Western in Chilliwack B.C., three days of meals, (except Thursday Dinner), transport to and from the launch site, a tournament banquet, prizes and of course about 16 hours of hard core sturgeon fishing on first class guide boats. The boats and guides were all assembled by the three main sponsors, Blue Water Rockies Sport Fish Guiding Company, Great River Fishing Adventures, and Len’s Sportfishing Adventures. I’m not beholden to any of these companies as none of them sponsored me for this tourney, but it was a great group of guides and classic Fraser River Jet Boats.

Team “Wolf Pack Canada” consisted of our guide Greg Wolf, operator of Len’s Sportfishing Adventures, Gary Muchula of North Van, John Kapel of Timmins Ontario, Doug Squair of Edmonton and yours truly. Our strategy was to split the prize money equally, but the $60,000 jet boat couldn’t be cut into pieces so it was winner take all on that one. We also set up a “biggest fish bet” whereby everyone chipped money into a pot and the largest fish of the day would take it. However the winner had to donate all the money to the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society for the purchase of tagging and monitoring studies and to pay for data analysis. All fish caught in the derby are scanned by the guides for “passive integrated transponder tags (PITT Tags) and if none are found they are inserted into the fish using a hypodermic needle. They are then measured for length, girth and examined for overall condition and health and then quickly released. In a derby such as this upwards of 200 or more fish may be caught and released and the data is transmitted to the FRSCS. The FRSCS compiles the data, tracks trends and reports this information to the B.C. Government for management of the fishery. In this way, responsible guides such as those in the World Tournament and certain trained fisherman have helped to compile a world renowned wildlife population management program. (More information on the FRSCS and donations opportunities can be found on the FRSCS web site. http://www.frasersturgeon.com/)

The first morning tides and winds were brutal and leaves were blowing like clouds from the trees and getting sucked up into pumps and crippling some jet boats dead in the water. We tried tying to some booms to deal with the winds but 4 rig losses in short order from the debris underneath them meant we had to find safer harbour. Eventually most boats found their marks downstream of Fort Langley and the radio started to crackle with reports of fish.

We settled in 45 feet of water and this was where the guides really started to earn their keep. Baiting a 3/O sturgeon hook with partially liquefied decaying chum meat put us all into our gag reflexes. I preferred salmon roe balls, a much more civilized bait, but I can’t deny that the “Chum Goo” attracted the fish to the hooks. By noon we had landed about 6 fish in the 4 to 6 foot range when the Pizza Hut Jet Boat arrived to deliver our Pizzas. Standing, fighting fish and pelting cold rain at times meant that the calories were greatly appreciated especially that there didn’t have to be a break in the fishing. When our pizza arrived, we had to direct him to the opposite side as there was a fish on.

The radio continued to crackle. The Italians were cleaning up with at least 8 fish landed including a 230 cm which took over the lead from the 201 fish. My rod was doing little dips for the longest time and I suspected a big one was being finicky! In fact “finicky” became the word of the day as the nibbles dragged on and on. Down river we could see the Tournament Marshall boat approach a team that had been hooting and hollering for some time. Then, the interest in my bait began to pick up and eventually the big bite came, I hauled back and the rod butt bit into my gut. Twenty minutes later, my arms were burning I sat down on the deck trying not to lose grip. The fighting belt helped stop my gut from being punctured but the team got me to my feet. We had a tournament fish on the line and I wasn’t about to let go!

At about the forty minute mark, I saw the telltale bubbles and we pulled anchor to get this beast to shore for an official measure. As we pulled up, the other team was just wrapping up with pictures of their 227 cm fish which was now #2 on the leader board. At about 2:00 pm as the tape pulled tight the Marshall called out “224 cm” and we took over #3 spot and were potentially in the money!

The GPS unit put us back on the spot, but we could see the Italian team still hauling in fish after fish. Our tally crept up to 10 fish and we were still holding onto #3 spot when shouts were heard downstream. The big bronze jet boat with the “Aimless Ass-kickers Canada” team were into a big one. Another shout and I could see the spray from the splash rise just over the 8 foot high top of the boat but couldn’t see the fish. The battle raged on and on and the 4:00 pm gun was only minutes away. The team really hauled on that fish and the guide was able to touch the leader before the horn went making it a legal fish. Now they could take all the time they wanted to land it and hopefully score onto the leader board.

Gary’s rod went down again and we had the 12th fish on the line and a chance at the total team length standings. At the five seconds left mark the guide reached for the leader but the fish plunged away and the horn blew. We landed the fish but it didn’t count. We hauled up bait with the bronze jet boat trying to make it to shore. It would be another half hour before that happened and a 231 cm fish took the lead away from the Italians and knocked us into 4th place. So close was this fish that double measures and scans were made to make sure it was not the same fish that the Italians had landed earlier in the day.

Day two was a high spirited affair but the standings stood firm until Doug Squair of the Wolf Pack started feeling the “good feel” of persistent nibbles. I had one going on my line at the same time and hauled back to feel what I thought was a small fish. Just as I thought the little guy could be quickly reeled in the fish figured out it was hooked and line burned from the reel. Doug hauled back and his reel immediately screamed and never stopped no matter what he did. We were into a big fish double header! I was focused on my fish when Doug’s broke water and the guide yelled out, “it’s at least 8 feet and yours looks like 6 feet!....keep those lines apart!” Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a huge boil and massive round body as Doug’s fish rolled at the surface. We were into a money fish!” After 45 minutes the fish finally tired and we realized that while it was massively round it was shorter than the #1 fish and eventually measured at 205 cm and good enough to rank 5th and took over as largest fish of day 2. The shore measuring of two such fine fish, totalling 14 feet in length made a unique photo op and even though we were weren’t in the money, the high fives were given all around.

Doug’s fish was his first and his rod came alive. We saw the Italians still boating fish but Doug’s rod began to smoke with three more fish landed and we knew we were closing the gap for the total team length standings. As the minutes ticked down we landed our 13th fish of the day, bringing our two day total to 24 fish, plus one foul hooked and one which had to be released because of the failed guide touch yesterday.

The banquet was consumed and the standings read out with the top three fish measuring 231 cm, 230 cm, 227 cm and where team “Wolf Pack Canada” ended up with the 4th at 224 cm and 5th place fish at 205 cm. The Italians captured the team title with 36.1 meters of sturgeon landed and Team Wolf Pack in second with 32.6 meters…..There will always be next year!

Tight lines

Peter K. Krahn.

Register Online - Secure Form