Top 15 FAQs I Get As A Sturgeon Guide

I get asked a ton of questions about myself, about fishing, sturgeon guiding, about sturgeon and some other odd ones.  In this blog, I summarize my most frequently asked questions.

1. How long have you I been guiding for?
I have been guiding for 18 years now and 2021 will be year number 19.

2. How many days do you guide each year? 

Typically around 180-220 days but with covid this year I was down from past years.

3. What is the biggest sturgeon you have caught?
Largest landed sturgeon I have caught was 11’ 4” fork length. It was not tagged so we were able to tag it which was a very special feeling!

4. What is the most sturgeon you have landed in a day?

That would be 84 landed and hooked well over 100 that day!

5. Do you guide on the ocean or fish for other species?

I do not guide on the ocean and specifically fish the Fraser and Harrison rivers for Sturgeon only.  It’s a big advantage to stick to sturgeon each day as I am able to track where they are and what they are feeding on more consistently. 

6. Do you ever catch no sturgeon on a guided trip?

Unfortunately yes, but only 2 times in my 18 years of guiding has it happened and not for many years now so the chances are very low.  I give a 100% guarantee on catching fish on your charter or your next trip is free!!!  

7. Has anyone ever lost a sturgeon rod?

Well, it did happen a few years ago after a client set the hook and it flew out of his hands shortly after.  I am trying to keep that number to 1 for the rest of my guiding years.

8. How much does one of my rod and reel set ups cost?

I just had new custom rods built in 2020 which cost around $550 each and a reel is roughly $650 so with line and taxes you are looking at around $1400 for one rod/reel combo.  

9. How old is your boat and how much did it cost?

My boat is a 2007 23 foot Wooldridge Super Sport Drifter with walk around and has a 496 chevy inboard motor.  I bought it in 2007 for around 70k and today would be around 120k to replace.

10. When is the best time of year to catch the biggest sturgeon?

This is a tough one for me to answer only because I have caught big sturgeon in all 12 months of the year so basically what I’m saying is you can catch the biggest fish of the year in any month really.  My 2 largest this year were in March and June.  My largest ever 11’4” was caught in November!

11. Do I get clients from outside Canada?

Yes I do. Normally 60-70% of my clients are from out of Canada. Except for this year of course with covid-19

12. How many sturgeon have you landed?

I was at roughly 18,000 before this year started and usually catch around 1,000 per year so that would put me at roughly 19,000 to date. 

13. How deep do you fish for sturgeon?

I have caught sturgeon in as shallow as 3-5 feet and as deep as 100 feet.  The depth really depends on the time of year and baits they are feeding on.

14. Has anyone ever fallen in the river?

I’d like to say no but yes it has happened before and thankfully we were able to avoid a dangerous situation by having the client brought back into the boat immediately after going in.

15. Have I caught the same sturgeon twice in a day?

No, I have not caught the same sturgeon twice in one day although I do know of a few others who have done it, but for the most part it is very uncommon.