A fishing guide in British Columbia who helped land an enormous sturgeon in the Fraser River in early June says he believes the fish is the largest white sturgeon ever caught on a rod and reel. And the guide, Kevin Estrada, knows a thing or two about big sturgeon. In 2021 he put Pete Peeters, a retired NHL goalie, on a white sturgeon that likely weighed around 890 pounds, or nearly half a ton. For comparison, the current all-tackle world record for the species weighed 468 pounds.
Estrada, who operates Sturgeon Slayers out of Chilliwack, says the sturgeon that one of his clients hauled out of the Fraser on June 4 was even bigger than Peeters’ 2021 fish — so big, in fact, that one measuring tape wouldn’t cut it.
“Once you finish the first 120-inch tape, and you need a second tape measure,” Estrada told CTV News, “then you know [you have] something interesting.”
Combining the two tapes, the Fraser River sturgeon measured 11 feet 8.2 inches long. Estrada also measured a 60-inch girth and he estimated the fish’s weight around 1,200 pounds. This figure is likely based on one of several formulas that use length and girth measurements to determine a fish’s weight.
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The fishermen tagged the sturgeon but they didn’t actually weigh it before releasing it. This is due to strict catch-and-release regulations in British Columbia, which prohibit anglers from lifting any white sturgeon out of the water. In most places, you can’t even target them. The species is designated as endangered throughout the province, with the Fraser providing the only recreational fishery in all of B.C.
In Estrada’s eyes, these protective regs are one of the main reasons why the Fraser River is still home to world-record-sized white sturgeon. As the co-chairman of the Fraser Valley Angling Guides Association, Estrada has long been a catch-and-release advocate and a proponent of the Fraser’s white sturgeon tagging program, which helps researchers learn more about these prehistoric giants. In 2025, Estrada was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal in recognition of his contributions to sturgeon conservation.
Speaking with The Chilliwack Progress last week, Estrada described their latest catch as “far more than a record.” He said it shows how conservation-minded, responsible angling can help protect a species that has been swimming on this planet for more than 200 million years.
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“It’s a reminder that there are giants swimming in the Fraser River, and it’s our responsibility to ensure future generations have an opportunity to witness and protect them,” Estrada said. “We don’t own the river. We steward it. Every fish we catch is treated as a living record, not a trophy.”
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