Nine-year-old Angler Lands Massive 10-foot Sturgeon
OutdoorHub Reporters 07.06.15
Nine-year-old Kegan Rothman may not have seen Jurassic World yet, but he already knows what a dinosaur looks like. On June 29, the young angler hooked a monster, 600-pound white sturgeon in British Columbia’s Fraser River. With the help of his father Dan Rothman and charter fishing guide Ben Trainer from Great River Fishing Adventures, it took Kegan Rothman more than an hour and 45 minutes to land the prehistoric fish.
“It is the most excitement I’ve ever had with a fish! It was so hard to hold onto the rod. I thought the fish was going to pull me into the water,” said Kegan Rothman. “I’ll never forget this—this is the best trip of my life!”
According to a press release from Great River Fishing Adventures, the sturgeon measured an impressive 10.1-feet in length and a 50-inch girth below the pectoral fins. It would be an impressive catch for even the most seasoned of anglers, but for a nine-year-old, Rothman’s guide described it as nearly impossible.
“I’ve been a professional fishing guide on the Fraser for 11 years and have fished these rivers my whole life. This is one of my largest fish I have help a client catch,” Trainer said. “We have helped to collectively tag more than 61,000 white sturgeon since 1995, and scanned an excess of 122,000 tagged sturgeon, which have been caught and released. With the size of this fish, I’d bet it’s over 75 years old.”
The young fisherman already knows his way around fish. From his home in New Jersey, Kegan Rothman and his father have ample opportunity to practice their skills on the water. His previous personal best was a 120-pound sailfish caught during a recent trip to Mexico. This sturgeon, however, was the catch of a lifetime.
“For the fish enthusiasts who traveled from New Jersey for their week of angling, it was a fish story to beat all others. With an iPhone the group was able to take some photos and video footage of the catch and release of the giant white sturgeon,” stated Great River Fishing Adventures.
The company lists its largest ever sturgeon as a behemoth, 12-foot fish that weighed more than 1,100 pounds.
You can see video of the release below:
