Monster Catch: Georgia Father, Son Haul in 884 Pound Fish

by Scott Bernarde

A Father’s Day weekend fishing expedition to Canada became a trip to remember for an Atlanta dad and son.

Ron and Paul Jarvis were fishing the Fraser River in British Columbia with Great River Fishing Adventures when Paul, 19, hooked into a monster white sturgeon on Thursday, June 12, the first day of a three-day trip. The fish was 11 feet, 10 inches long and weighed 884 pounds, and is the subject of a YouTube video that has drawn more than 50,000 views.

The fishing charter company said it was the first time Paul, “an avid angler,” had ever fished with his dad.

MORE: Florida Fisherman Gets Massive Surprise As He Reels in Monster Bass

Paul fought the fish for more than an hour before it was tagged and let go. It was the fourth sturgeon over 11 feet long caught by the Great River Fishing clients on the Fraser River in the past two years.

The white sturgeon is a protected species, according to this Newsy report.

Ron Jarvis said he booked the trip on the Fraser River on the advice of a Washington guide company because he was looking for the fishing trip of a lifetime.

He found it.

“They suggested that the biggest fish were in Canada on the Fraser River,” Ron Jarvis told the Great River Fishing Adventures blog. “I knew the trip was going to be great, but never thought we’d hook a 900-pound sturgeon.”

Georgians know a little bit about record fish. The world record largemouth bass (broken in 2009) was caught by George Perry in 1932 on an Ocmulgee River oxbow lake in central Georgia. That fish weighed a mere 22.25 pounds.