Hurrah!! Hurrah!! Exams are over. Time to par– oh wait… three more projects due this week! Haha.
So, how’s it going friends? How was your Halloween? I spent my actual Hallowe’en night over at my friend’s house. We got really excited at the idea of handing out candy… I mean, cute little kids in costume?? Unfortunately, our total trick-or-treater count amounted to three teenagers. It was pretty sad. I guess nowadays more parents are sticking to malls, shops, or townhouse complexes for trick-or-treating, and earlier and earlier too. I remember as a kid the streets used to be swarming until 9:00 pm… the dangers of being a child nowadays!
So the highlight of my week: sturgeon tagging on the Fraser River!!
That sturgeon was just under 6 feet.
Sturgeon are seriously cool fish. We started our day bright and early at the Mission boat launch. Our guide, Erkki, got us on the boat and explained to us the basics of sturgeon fishing. He seemed pretty cool with having a boat full of inexperienced girls who had never been sturgeon fishing in their lives. Or really any type of fishing for that matter.
We made little roe bags out of nylon and attached them to hooks… and then it was just a waiting game. We wanted one, just one… and then…
Miranda fighting the fish!
It takes SO MUCH effort to bring these fish in. Even the smaller three or four foot fish was a fight. You’d have to yank the rod up and reel them in as quickly as you can. There’s a little belt you can wear to insert the butt of the rod in so it doesn’t do a number on your belly. In the end, you feel super elated… and sore. And strong.
Ta da!!
Our first two were so big we couldn’t take them into the boat, we had to take them to shore. We scanned them for PIT tags, measured their length and girth, and then released them back in the water. They were gorgeous!! Some of the older fish had scutes that were worn down, but the younger ones had razor sharp scutes on the top and side that if you’re not careful, can seriously cut you. Sadly, the only injury I got was from when we stopped ashore for a bathroom break and I scraped my back on a sharp rock while trying to keep my balance (boys have it easy).
Every day, I feel incredibly lucky to have these opportunities that I would never have gotten in day to day life (I guess I don’t really have the type of friend group that would spontaneously say, “Hey, let’s go hook some sturgeons!”). It’s amazing how much fun you can have on a field trip with good friends and good fishing!
Just a wee one!
Cheers,
Audrey