- Fish on! Should I be letting it
take line like this? - Yeah, yeah.
- Oh, oh. Oh, he's running. (grunting) Oh, there it just jumped! You see it? It's like the size of a killer whale! Wow, it is massive. (groaning) This could be a world record sized fish. Woo! Well, it's the start of
a very big adventure. We are in the middle of nowhere right now. British Columbia is a massive
expanse of wilderness. And this river that's flowing
here is the Fraser River. And it's surrounded in lore and mystery, primarily around the sightings of what may be a prehistoric creature. We're gonna be working
with two experts today. Kevin and Mariko,
conservationists and anglers. And our goal is to see if we can catch one of these supposed river monsters. Sunshine's starting to peek out. You've got clouds lining in between the crest of these mountains. You've got the frost line
up top with the snow caps. British Columbia is absolutely beautiful. And we're gonna catch a
river monster, (laughing) a big river monster. All right, the boat's
getting ready to pick me up. It's go time. - In British Columbia,
we're pretty fortunate with what we have here for fishing. It's a mecca in the world for fishing. Once, I was about 14 years old, and saw one for the first time. Last year, we were fortunate
enough to land a fish that's 11 foot six and a half to the fork. And we were pretty
excited to say the least to see something that spectacular. It changed my life. - Well hopefully we catch something between seven and maybe 14 feet today. Kevin has the world record at this point. But as long as we get
a big fish on the line we will have an excellent episode. Okay, so we officially have a
couple of lines in the water. And like most fishing, now
we begin the waiting process. There's heavy weight on
the end of these baits, so it essentially stays in one spot. And we wanna let the fish come to it. 28 feet deep in this spot, right here. So, we're gonna catch a big one today. - [Kevin] These two here are
real close to this bait here. They're just sitting
beside each other, just. See those two?
- Yep. - Hold on, 'kay, here we go. We're getting a bite. - [Coyote] Oh, we might have a bite! - [Kevin] Now, it could be a smaller fish. Or it could be monstrous and
he's just going super slow with trying to get the bait. - [Coyote] Oh yeah, definitely
pulling a little bit. Not a big fish. Oh, okay. Definitely a lot more pull now. Oh yeah, there he is, there he is! - Just keep him in the water.
- Oh yes! Wow. - Just keep him in the water.
- Yeah. Whoa! That is like perfect handle and hug size. Look at that prehistoric creature. A little mini river monster. Even at this size, incredible power. You gonna walk him in?
- Walk him in, yep. - Okay.
- First one - Fish is secure.
- Good job. - Oh my goodness! Look at you. Unbelievable. That is the white sturgeon, a very miniaturized version
of what we're hoping to catch throughout the course of today. But this gives us a chance
to really examine the animal. Look at that beautiful coloration. It almost glistens white and blue. And what's unique about the body structure of this fish is that it's very muscular. The skeleton is made of cartilage, but the head is made of solid bone. The snout is very shovel nose in design. You see those little things
dangling off the front there? Those are the barbels. And it's those barbels
they can sense chemicals within the environment
to help these creatures search for their food. Now the mouth of the fish, I'm gonna lift it up just
very gently like that so you can see the underside,
they have no teeth. These are environmental vacuums. And that they use suction
to bring small crustaceans and other animal into their mouths. So they use flat raspy
plates to crush down on and then swallow their prey. And they've got these distinct
pectoral fins on their side, which helps balance their
body when they're underwater. But it's this dorsal fin
in the back and the tail that really makes it look like a shark. That caudal fin will often be
seen coming to the surface. And those are one of the
indicators that people think that they're seeing some
sort of prehistoric monster. This fish is truly ancient in design. And its reptilian look,
especially if that back just comes to the surface like
that, shows you why people may misidentify this animal
as a mythological creature. And at this point, we
wanna get the fish back off and into the environment. But this is small, two
and a half feet in length. We're hoping to find something
that dwarfs this fish. Something that could truly be
considered a river monster. All right, buddy. Thanks for hanging out
with us and happy hunting. (dramatic music) - [Kevin] For us, it's very
encouraging to see these fish. And when you get the small
ones, they're my favorite. And so it's great seeing them. - [Coyote] Yeah, the young ones mean the next generation is growing to become someday these living dinosaurs in a sense. - [Kevin] Exactly. - Well, certainly the
work that you're doing to instill conservation
and education aligns with everything that we're
doing at Brave Wilderness. And if we can catch a big
fish, we'll be able to show the world just why
these creatures are so cool. - Yeah, for sure. And it'll be good to
see what sizes we get, 'cause it's kind of
like a lottery out here. You get little guys, you get big guys. We don't know. - Any tips for how to
bring in one of these fish, especially if it's seven feet or more, and weighing close to 300 pounds. - Yeah, so one thing is,
never let your guard down. Ever. And also, if you have a
little bit of a pause, straighten out your arms, rather than keep them
really tight in like this. And that'll give your bicep and your forearm a little bit of a break. And then you gotta get right back into it. - [Kevin] So you see that fish on there? I'm gonna try and cast right close to 'em. - It's just trailing off
the back of the boat. And the big question is, whether or not it's actually
hungry and wanting to feed. If we get that monster
on the line, hold on. (fishing pole clicking) - We got a fish.
- Fish on! Big one?
- Bigger. - [Coyote] Bigger, oh! - [Kevin] Okay, you're gonna grab this. And you're gonna stay square to 'em. - Okay.
- So face him. - Okay.
- Yeah, like that. - [Coyote] That's gonna be a
legit river monster right here. - [Kevin] And hold on tight, 'cause when he's going, he's gonna go. - [Coyote] So I'm just
feeling him hold on. - Just hold on, yeah. Okay, yeah, yeah, get ready? Hold on tight, don't reel. Don't reel, just hold. Just hold. - Whoa, that's a strong fish right there. Holy cow. We definitely have a river
monster on the end of this line. Ah! Wow, this is gonna
require a lot of strength, I can tell that. Should I be letting it
take in line like this? - Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let him go, let him go. Just stay square to him. - Oh. This is a very, very big fish. I'm using all my body weight
to hold onto this animal. Ah, come on baby! (grunting) Oh boy. ♪ Farewell and ado, all
ye fair Spanish ladies ♪ ♪ Farewell and ado, ye ladies of Spain ♪ We got a big one here, chief. This could be a world record size fish. Kevin and I might break his record today. My forearms are screaming right now. Oh! That's why you don't
skip arm day at the gym. Wow! Oh, look at him taking,
look at him taking slack. Oh, he's running. Every time I have the chance
for slack, I gotta take it. Oh, there it just jumped! Do you see it? It's like the size of a killer whale! Woo! It is huge, did you see it? Whoa, it is really big. We do not wanna lose this fish. We've got the fish up at the surface. It's absolutely huge. Mario's filming it, its head's
right alongside the boat. Wow, it is massive! Holy cow. What do you want me to do, Kevin? - [Kevin] Just right there's good. I'm gonna grab the line. And then I'm gonna grab the weight. Reel a little bit.
- Okay. Reel a little bit in. - [Kevin] Just right there, yeah. That's good right there. Hold it there. Hold it there. - [Coyote] Whoa. Oh yeah. - There it is.
- That is a big fish. - Good job.
- Wow. Holy cow. Yeah, that is a horse right there. It's spilling out of the cradle. - [Kevin] Okay, let's
see what his length is. - [Coyote] 225. Wow, yeah. - 86.
- 86. 225, 86. - Seven and a half feet.
- That's a huge tail. - [Kevin] Over eight total length. - Over eight?
- Total length, yeah. - His head is huge. Absolutely massive. Look at the size of its head. It's like a battering ram. Woo! We have done it. We have caught a true dinosaur. The white sturgeon. Measuring eight feet in length and capping in at probably
close to 300 pounds. And when you look at the
design of this animal, it looks exactly like the
smaller one we caught earlier. The big bony head, the
scutes that run down the length of the body. But the difference is
the girth and the weight. This thing is absolutely massive. Now the lineage of this fish species dates back 200 million years. And throughout our adventure, Kevin keeps calling
these things dinosaurs. They truly are living fossils. What would you guess, Kevin? This fish is probably close
to 70 or 80 years of age? - [Kevin] Yeah, for sure. At this size, yeah. - [Coyote] That is ancient. - Something very cool about this fish, is see these scutes around
here, they're like blue. Every fish has different unique markings. You can always see it on the head and you can also see it on the scutes. This fish has got really,
really unique markings, which is very cool to see. - Yeah, it almost looks
like this diamond pattern. And the head is so smooth. And then as soon as you
get to those scutes, they really are razor sharp. But they have this
iridescent glow to them. And the pattern on each individual fish is completely unique, correct? - Yeah. And also the scutes, right? The further they go up
river on the Fraser here, they'll wear down like sandpaper. So the closer to the
ocean, they're sharper. And if they're a transient fish, you can get sharp fish in
areas that you typically don't. - We spent hours traveling
up river by boat. But believe it or not,
civilization is all around us. The biggest threat a
fish of this size faces is non-selective salmon nets. These animals get tangled up. The nets aren't checked for
significant periods of time. And they end up drowning. 80 years that it takes
to get to this size. And it can be lost in a single day simply because a net is not being checked. It's really heartbreaking
when you think about it. But, at the same time, people don't think about these animals. The sturgeon is not
exactly the prettiest fish on the face of the planet. It lives in murky water,
feeding at the bottom, an environmental vacuum cleaner. But they're incredibly important. And without them, the river system will
completely fall out of balance. You gotta love something that's
this big and this ancient. When do you ever get to be
hands on with a dinosaur? I absolutely love this fish. Sturgeon have been one of
those misunderstood creatures that I've loved since I was a little kid. Oh, this was so cool. Now angling this fish
was incredibly difficult, exhausting on the body, but the reward, being able to get it up close, and most importantly, be able
to share it with the audience, is what's gonna help change the face of conservation for these fish. If you can't see it, if
you can't appreciate it, you can't truly love it. And if you can't love something, you don't have a real
reason to protect it. Kevin, thank you so much for bringing us out on this expedition. For me, this is a new, personal best. Eight feet in length, 300 pounds. Thank you, sturgeon. You have now topped the alligator gar. I'm Coyote Peterson. Be brave. Stay wild. We'll see ya on the next adventure. All right, big fish, off you go. Every day, another giant
vanishes from our planet. Many of which go unseen and unrecognized. But conservation warriors
like Kevin and Mariko are working tirelessly to change this. To glimpse a river monster at the surface is a sight one never forgets. And is a story of the unexplained
that can last a lifetime. But to physically angle,
get hands on with, and spiritually connect
with these ancient creatures is a privilege one can
only experience in person. If you would like to raise
awareness for white sturgeon and become part of a research expedition, make sure to visit and
book your adventure today. (animals calling)
