As anglers flock back to river valleys amidst waning pandemic restrictions, one B.C. fishing tour is catching attention after a video of a ginormous jumping fish went viral.
The owner of Yves Bisson Sturgeon Co, based in Chilliwack, was on the river with clients when they saw a sturgeon of legendary proportions leaping practically on top of them. As chance would have it, fishing guide Yves Bisson had his camera rolling that day in the Fraser River valley—it was a whopper.
“We saw this almost 9- to 10-foot sturgeon jump behind us, so it was pretty breathtaking, and the guy who caught it was—well, you can see the video,” Bisson told The Epoch Times, laughing.
It weighed “350 to 400 pounds,” Bisson said.
He posted the remarkable video on TikTok, which garnered 9.2 million views, to date, and attracted attention from major news outlets, such as the New York Post.
“Everyone’s got a video of a jumping sturgeon, but to get it that close, that big, in slow mo, basically on top of us, is what made that particular moment special,” he added.
Bisson said that the fish was tagged, chipped for tracking, and then released back into the river as part of their conservation program.
The fishing guide of 19 years said he’s caught and tagged just over 20,000 fish in his career, “more than anyone else in the world,” adding that their fishery is “one of the best in the world.”
Business on the river has dried up some since the pandemic hit, he admits, though tourists are now starting to trickle in more and more as the world reopens.
“It hasn’t been a great year, but I’ve already got lots of American clients coming over starting on the 9th, so things are looking a lot better,” he said.
As for Yves Bisson Sturgeon Co’s newfound viral fame, a little promotion on social media can’t be bad for business.
