July 1, 2015 — Chilliwack, BC — Dan Rothman and his nine year old son came to Chilliwack just after the movie Jurassic World opened to record numbers. They have not seen the movie yet. But they have seen a dinosaur! The Rothmans are fishermen and came here from New Jersey for a sturgeon fishing adventure on the Fraser River they will never forget.
This week, on Monday June 29 at 1:30pm, four foot tall, nine-year-old Kegan Rothman caught an estimated 600 pound Great White Sturgeon on the Fraser with a BC guided fishing charter company called Great River Fishing Adventures . On their first day out, they caught the biggest fish on record for the company this year.
Nine-year-old Kegan saw his rod tip dip and he set the hook. A fight ensued. With the help of his father and their guide, Ben Trainer, they played the fish down the river. Great River Fishing Adventures guide Trainer manoeuvred the sturgeon and the boat, taking one hour and 45 minutes to land the fish, a nearly impossible feat.
Once on shore, Trainer was able to properly examine the fish. The scientific measurement to the fork in the fish’s tail – the fork length is 9 feet and 5 inches. The fishes total length was measured at 10 feet and one inch. While it was impossible to weigh it, charts indicate that its weight is about 600 pounds. It had a 50 inch girth measured below the pectoral fins.
“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,” says Trainer of Great River Fishing Adventures. “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 its over 75 years old.”
For the fish enthusiasts who travelled 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.
WATCH THE INCREDIBLE VIDEO CAPTURED OF THIS AMAZING 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,” says nine year old Kegan Rothman. “I’ll never forget this – this is the best trip of my life!”
Kegan Rothman is already an avid fisherman. At the young age of nine years old he has caught hundreds of fish and keeps a book recording all their weights and sizes. His previous largest fish was a 120 pound sailfish caught while on vacation to Mexico.
What comes after the catch of a lifetime? The Rothmans were out on the water for two more days. They fish on Thursday July 2nd before they fly back home to Atlantic City, New Jersey on Friday.
Over the past five years, Great River Fishing Adventures have landed four monster-sized sturgeon during guided tours. The largest to date is a 12 foot, four inch fish weighing in at 1,100 lbs.
About Great River Fishing Adventures
Since 1998 Great River Fishing Adventures have been chasing sturgeon and providing first class adventures to people from around the world all year round. They have a handpicked team of guides who have over 350 years of fishing experience combined. Great River Fishing Adventures provides the opportunity to fish with experts who work hard to also preserve and maintain the Great White Sturgeon and the surrounding habitat. Their passion for preserving these prehistoric fish has been the foundation of their success and motivation for the past 25 years.
For more information & photos:
Matthew Clive
VP Sales and Marketing
Great River Fishing Adventures
Off: 1-778-397-4200
Cell: 1-604-997-3474
mclive@greatriverfishing.com
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