If you are an avid fisherman, you have a few bucket list fishing trips before you die. It may be fishing the open ocean for Marlin or going after the scary-looking but impressive Alligator gar. Living in beautiful British Columbia, we have the privilege of having some of the best fishing in the world. This includes huge trout / pike in the Northern interior, world-class salmon on the coast and the Great White Sturgeon. BC fishermen are certainly spoiled.
The two world-class fishing trips that you can best be part of in British Columbia include the Chinook salmon and the Great White Sturgeon. So, what are the pros and cons of both? What fish is better to target?
I just returned home from a fishing trip on Haida Gwaii, and based on that experience, plus years of fishing the BC coast as well as several sturgeon fishing I’m making the following comparisons.
Fish Size
This one is a no-brainer. A salmon fisherman’s goal is to catch a “tyee” – a 30lb+ Chinook salmon. When fishing for White Sturgeon on the Fraser River with Yves Bisson, on almost every trip we caught a sturgeon of 200lb+.
Winner: Sturgeon
Fight Quality
When you fish a sturgeon, you may get a few long runs down-river (eg for nearly a minute), and about half the time, the massive fish puts on a spectacular jump. That really gets the blood pumping. Fishing for sturgeon then becomes man vs powerful beast with virtually unbreakable line. When catching a larger sturgeon, you often need help chasing down the fish. The fight can take 30+ minutes for the really big ones. Eventually the fight becomes a more methodical wind, burning of the forearms until the sturgeon is finally caught. You can’t bring anything over 4ft into the boat, so you end up beaching the boat, taking a couple pics in the water and then releasing the sturgeon.
While I cannot admit to catching a tyee, I’ve come close a few times. I feel fishing for chinook is more exhilarating. You are using a much lighter line and a larger salmon will take several runs of line out before you have a chance to net the fish. With its intense and manic fighting style, there is a much higher risk of losing a salmon. As time goes on, your heart beats faster due to the build up of anxiety of losing your salmon. When catching a large sturgeon, your heart rate increases more from the workout. So, pound for pound, I’d give fight quality a win for the chinook salmon.
Winner: Salmon
Big Fish Frequency
When you watch fishing shows, you often spend 90% of the show waiting for the host to catch “the big one”. Magically, at the end, they get one. When you read about how large a fish can reach, nobody has ever seen a fish that size in a very long time. It almost becomes folklore – fishing for a unicorn. Chinook can grow to be as big as 120lbs. It’s been a long time since any salmon caught has reached 75lbs. The Great White Sturgeon can reach 20ft in length. But that one fish caught was early 1900’s. Nobody has recorded even a 13 ft sturgeon in decades.
So what is considered a “big” fish? For salmon, I consider 30lb salmon – the point where a Chinook is given the honorary term of a “tyee”. For sturgeon, I’d say 8ft is a massive fish (See image in this article). So that’s what I’m basing this category on.
Well, on my salmon fishing trip, only 1 fisherman out of 70 caught a tyee in the 4 days of fishing. While being early in the fishing season, that’s 1 out of 280 trips. When sturgeon fishing with Yves Bisson, it seems that about every 2nd trip he is bringing in at least one sturgeon over 8ft in length.
Winner: Sturgeon
Weather Considerations
Fishing for Chinook is most often done in the ocean. Sure, there is river fishing, but it is easiest and most common to fish for Chinook as they pass through a particular area along their migratory route back to the river they were born to spawn.
Fishing for White Sturgeon is done in the river – and the big ones you’ll find in the Fraser River, from the city of Mission to East of Hope.
There are no waves on the river and you don’t need to cancel due to inclement weather. When you fish for sturgeon, you anchor and wait for the fish to come to you. If it’s raining, you wait under cover (if you are being guided by someone like Yves Bisson of Sturgeon Co). On a cold & windy day, I’d much rather be on the river than on the unpredictable ocean.
Winner: Sturgeon
Fishing Season
Fishing for Chinook can only be done when the fish are around (and in season). This is generally from June to September, when they start their migration back to their spawning grounds. Sturgeon can be fished all year, with just as good of results and just as many big fish in the winter as in the heat of summer. This one is no contest, especially if you are not in Chinook season.
Winner: Sturgeon
Bringing Home Your Catch
Sturgeon fishing is catch & release. So, this one has to go to the salmon. You can’t beat barbequed or grilled salmon…
Winner: Salmon
Destination Considerations
I stayed at an amazing isolated lodge at the far north end of Haida Gwaii. The meals were great and everything was geared towards fishing. I was on a floating lodge, which meant space was at a premium. So the rooms were small. Other lodges are on land so can be more liberal with room sizes. Fishing lodges and isolated areas are the best way to fish for salmon. But it comes with a hefty price tag. There are also salmon charters that are done out of downtown Vancouver. I did this last year with great success (despite some questionable seas). So there are options depending on whether you want the immersive or the well-rounded fishing experience.
Fishing for the biggest sturgeon is done about an hour east of Vancouver. You can stay where you want. There is no set hotel(s) for fisherman who are targeting sturgeon.
There are equivalent options for either the Chinook or the sturgeon. If you have a spouse or family member who isn’t into fishing, then they can spend time touring Vancouver.
Winner: tie
Conclusions
Both catching a large salmon and a large sturgeon are one of the best feelings for a fisherman. I’m not sure which I prefer. I have the privilege to be able to do both. There is no reason you as a fisherman couldn’t do both on the same trip. They are completely different fishing experiences. Do you want to catch the largest freshwater fish in the world? Or do you want to bring home your catch and stock up your freezer? Hopefully some of the insights above will help you choose which is right for you.
