Every year NHL players and fishing and hockey enthusiasts descend into the Fraser Valley in gorgeous British Columbia, Canada to immerse themselves in the magical world of the White Sturgeon. These prehistoric fish live in the Fraser River, which is also home to the leaders in conservation of this rare species.
Together with the Ladd Foundation, Sturgeon Slayers and team put on an epic weeklong event to help promote sustainable practices on the river, and to raise money for a worthy cause. This years efforts went towards the Kelowna chapter of the Canadian Mental Health Association and to the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society.
As part of the Ladd/Sturgeon Slayers team, I spent most of the two days of fishing, on the event boat, capturing all sorts of fun moments between NHL players, guests, guides and sturgeon. There were a lot of sturgeon caught, recorded (measured, scanned and tagged accordingly) and then released. In fact, this year we tagged the most fish out of all three years we’ve hosted the event.
Some of the anglers were first timers – having never touched a fish before – and others were true veterans. What was clear was that everyone was taking in their precious time on the river, as the water sparkled from the sun and the majestic mountains surrounded us on both sides. Stories, laughter, and in-depth conversations were on full display. The camaraderie that is built on a boat is hard to beat, and add to that the unique experience of interacting with a great white sturgeon, and you’ve got friends for life. It’s hard to describe the awesome experience of sharing the water with a sturgeon, but I’ll try to through photos –
*to participate next year, contact Brandy Ladd at brandy@laddfoundation.org