- Fish on!
Should I be letting it take line like this?
- Yeah, yeah. - Oh, oh.
Oh, he's running. (grunting)
Oh, there it just jumped!
You see it?
It's like the size of a killer whale!
Wow, it is massive. (groaning)
This could be a world record sized fish.
Woo!
Well, it's the start of a very big adventure.
We are in the middle of nowhere right now.
British Columbia is a massive expanse of wilderness.
And this river that's flowing here is the Fraser River.
And it's surrounded in lore and mystery,
primarily around the sightings
of what may be a prehistoric creature.
We're gonna be working with two experts today.
Kevin and Mariko, conservationists and anglers.
And our goal is to see if we can catch
one of these supposed river monsters.
Sunshine's starting to peek out.
You've got clouds lining in between
the crest of these mountains.
You've got the frost line up top with the snow caps.
British Columbia is absolutely beautiful.
And we're gonna catch a river monster, (laughing)
a big river monster.
All right, the boat's getting ready to pick me up.
It's go time.
- In British Columbia, we're pretty fortunate with
what we have here for fishing.
It's a mecca in the world for fishing.
Once, I was about 14 years old,
and saw one for the first time.
Last year, we were fortunate enough to land a fish
that's 11 foot six and a half to the fork.
And we were pretty excited to say the least
to see something that spectacular.
It changed my life.
- Well hopefully we catch something
between seven and maybe 14 feet today.
Kevin has the world record at this point.
But as long as we get a big fish on the line
we will have an excellent episode.
Okay, so we officially have a couple of lines in the water.
And like most fishing, now we begin the waiting process.
There's heavy weight on the end of these baits,
so it essentially stays in one spot.
And we wanna let the fish come to it.
28 feet deep in this spot, right here.
So, we're gonna catch a big one today.
- [Kevin] These two here are real close to this bait here.
They're just sitting beside each other, just.
See those two? - Yep.
- Hold on, 'kay, here we go.
We're getting a bite.
- [Coyote] Oh, we might have a bite!
- [Kevin] Now, it could be a smaller fish.
Or it could be monstrous and he's just going super slow
with trying to get the bait.
- [Coyote] Oh yeah, definitely pulling a little bit.
Not a big fish.
Oh, okay.
Definitely a lot more pull now.
Oh yeah, there he is, there he is!
- Just keep him in the water. - Oh yes!
Wow.
- Just keep him in the water. - Yeah.
Whoa!
That is like perfect handle and hug size.
Look at that prehistoric creature.
A little mini river monster.
Even at this size, incredible power.
You gonna walk him in? - Walk him in, yep.
- Okay. - First one
- Fish is secure. - Good job.
- Oh my goodness!
Look at you.
Unbelievable.
That is the white sturgeon,
a very miniaturized version of what we're hoping to catch
throughout the course of today.
But this gives us a chance to really examine the animal.
Look at that beautiful coloration.
It almost glistens white and blue.
And what's unique about the body structure
of this fish is that it's very muscular.
The skeleton is made of cartilage,
but the head is made of solid bone.
The snout is very shovel nose in design.
You see those little things dangling off the front there?
Those are the barbels.
And it's those barbels they can sense chemicals
within the environment to help these creatures
search for their food.
Now the mouth of the fish,
I'm gonna lift it up just very gently like that
so you can see the underside, they have no teeth.
These are environmental vacuums.
And that they use suction to bring small crustaceans
and other animal into their mouths.
So they use flat raspy plates to crush down on
and then swallow their prey.
And they've got these distinct pectoral fins on their side,
which helps balance their body when they're underwater.
But it's this dorsal fin in the back and the tail
that really makes it look like a shark.
That caudal fin will often be seen coming to the surface.
And those are one of the indicators that people think
that they're seeing some sort of prehistoric monster.
This fish is truly ancient in design.
And its reptilian look, especially if that back
just comes to the surface like that, shows you why people
may misidentify this animal as a mythological creature.
And at this point, we wanna get the fish back off
and into the environment.
But this is small, two and a half feet in length.
We're hoping to find something that dwarfs this fish.
Something that could truly be considered a river monster.
All right, buddy.
Thanks for hanging out with us and happy hunting.
(dramatic music)
- [Kevin] For us, it's very encouraging to see these fish.
And when you get the small ones, they're my favorite.
And so it's great seeing them.
- [Coyote] Yeah, the young ones mean
the next generation is growing to become
someday these living dinosaurs in a sense.
- [Kevin] Exactly.
- Well, certainly the work that you're doing
to instill conservation and education aligns with
everything that we're doing at Brave Wilderness.
And if we can catch a big fish, we'll be able to
show the world just why these creatures are so cool.
- Yeah, for sure.
And it'll be good to see what sizes we get,
'cause it's kind of like a lottery out here.
You get little guys, you get big guys.
We don't know.
- Any tips for how to bring in one of these fish,
especially if it's seven feet or more,
and weighing close to 300 pounds.
- Yeah, so one thing is, never let your guard down.
Ever.
And also, if you have a little bit of a pause,
straighten out your arms,
rather than keep them really tight in like this.
And that'll give your bicep
and your forearm a little bit of a break.
And then you gotta get right back into it.
- [Kevin] So you see that fish on there?
I'm gonna try and cast right close to 'em.
- It's just trailing off the back of the boat.
And the big question is,
whether or not it's actually hungry and wanting to feed.
If we get that monster on the line, hold on.
(fishing pole clicking)
- We got a fish. - Fish on!
Big one? - Bigger.
- [Coyote] Bigger, oh!
- [Kevin] Okay, you're gonna grab this.
And you're gonna stay square to 'em.
- Okay. - So face him.
- Okay. - Yeah, like that.
- [Coyote] That's gonna be a legit river monster right here.
- [Kevin] And hold on tight,
'cause when he's going, he's gonna go.
- [Coyote] So I'm just feeling him hold on.
- Just hold on, yeah.
Okay, yeah, yeah, get ready?
Hold on tight, don't reel.
Don't reel, just hold.
Just hold.
- Whoa, that's a strong fish right there.
Holy cow.
We definitely have a river monster on the end of this line.
Ah!
Wow, this is gonna require a lot of strength,
I can tell that.
Should I be letting it take in line like this?
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Let him go, let him go.
Just stay square to him.
- Oh.
This is a very, very big fish.
I'm using all my body weight to hold onto this animal.
Ah, come on baby! (grunting)
Oh boy.
♪ Farewell and ado, all ye fair Spanish ladies ♪
♪ Farewell and ado, ye ladies of Spain ♪
We got a big one here, chief.
This could be a world record size fish.
Kevin and I might break his record today.
My forearms are screaming right now.
Oh!
That's why you don't skip arm day at the gym.
Wow!
Oh, look at him taking, look at him taking slack.
Oh, he's running.
Every time I have the chance for slack, I gotta take it.
Oh, there it just jumped!
Do you see it?
It's like the size of a killer whale!
Woo!
It is huge, did you see it?
Whoa, it is really big.
We do not wanna lose this fish.
We've got the fish up at the surface.
It's absolutely huge.
Mario's filming it, its head's right alongside the boat.
Wow, it is massive!
Holy cow.
What do you want me to do, Kevin?
- [Kevin] Just right there's good.
I'm gonna grab the line.
And then I'm gonna grab the weight.
Reel a little bit. - Okay.
Reel a little bit in.
- [Kevin] Just right there, yeah.
That's good right there.
Hold it there.
- [Coyote] Whoa.
Oh yeah.
- There it is. - That is a big fish.
- Good job. - Wow.
Holy cow.
Yeah, that is a horse right there.
It's spilling out of the cradle.
- [Kevin] Okay, let's see what his length is.
- [Coyote] 225.
Wow, yeah.
- 86. - 86.
225, 86.
- Seven and a half feet. - That's a huge tail.
- [Kevin] Over eight total length.
- Over eight? - Total length, yeah.
- His head is huge.
Absolutely massive.
Look at the size of its head.
It's like a battering ram.
Woo!
We have done it.
We have caught a true dinosaur.
The white sturgeon.
Measuring eight feet in length
and capping in at probably close to 300 pounds.
And when you look at the design of this animal,
it looks exactly like the smaller one we caught earlier.
The big bony head, the scutes that run down
the length of the body.
But the difference is the girth and the weight.
This thing is absolutely massive.
Now the lineage of this fish species
dates back 200 million years.
And throughout our adventure,
Kevin keeps calling these things dinosaurs.
They truly are living fossils.
What would you guess, Kevin?
This fish is probably close to 70 or 80 years of age?
- [Kevin] Yeah, for sure.
At this size, yeah.
- [Coyote] That is ancient.
- Something very cool about this fish,
is see these scutes around here, they're like blue.
Every fish has different unique markings.
You can always see it on the head
and you can also see it on the scutes.
This fish has got really, really unique markings,
which is very cool to see.
- Yeah, it almost looks like this diamond pattern.
And the head is so smooth.
And then as soon as you get to those scutes,
they really are razor sharp.
But they have this iridescent glow to them.
And the pattern on each individual fish
is completely unique, correct?
- Yeah.
And also the scutes, right?
The further they go up river on the Fraser here,
they'll wear down like sandpaper.
So the closer to the ocean, they're sharper.
And if they're a transient fish,
you can get sharp fish in areas that you typically don't.
- We spent hours traveling up river by boat.
But believe it or not, civilization is all around us.
The biggest threat a fish of this size faces
is non-selective salmon nets.
These animals get tangled up.
The nets aren't checked for significant periods of time.
And they end up drowning.
80 years that it takes to get to this size.
And it can be lost in a single day
simply because a net is not being checked.
It's really heartbreaking when you think about it.
But, at the same time,
people don't think about these animals.
The sturgeon is not exactly the prettiest fish
on the face of the planet.
It lives in murky water, feeding at the bottom,
an environmental vacuum cleaner.
But they're incredibly important.
And without them,
the river system will completely fall out of balance.
You gotta love something that's this big and this ancient.
When do you ever get to be hands on with a dinosaur?
I absolutely love this fish.
Sturgeon have been one of those misunderstood creatures
that I've loved since I was a little kid.
Oh, this was so cool.
Now angling this fish was incredibly difficult,
exhausting on the body, but the reward,
being able to get it up close,
and most importantly, be able to share it with the audience,
is what's gonna help change the face
of conservation for these fish.
If you can't see it, if you can't appreciate it,
you can't truly love it.
And if you can't love something,
you don't have a real reason to protect it.
Kevin, thank you so much
for bringing us out on this expedition.
For me, this is a new, personal best.
Eight feet in length, 300 pounds.
Thank you, sturgeon.
You have now topped the alligator gar.
I'm Coyote Peterson.
Be brave.
Stay wild.
We'll see ya on the next adventure.
All right, big fish, off you go.
Every day, another giant vanishes from our planet.
Many of which go unseen and unrecognized.
But conservation warriors like Kevin and Mariko
are working tirelessly to change this.
To glimpse a river monster at the surface
is a sight one never forgets.
And is a story of the unexplained that can last a lifetime.
But to physically angle, get hands on with,
and spiritually connect with these ancient creatures
is a privilege one can only experience in person.
If you would like to raise awareness for white sturgeon
and become part of a research expedition,
make sure to visit and book your adventure today.
(animals calling)