Whether it’s an ocean, a river, or a lake, water sources have always been a home to a wide variety of species.
As a few adventurers from Lillooet, British Columbia, realized, some these species are downright majestic and terrifying.
The local fishing enthusiasts have always been sharing stories about a gigantic fish with a pig nose that is lurking in the Fraser river. Little did they know, however, that on August 23, 2016, a local teen will manage to catch this monstrous animal.
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On what seemed like a regular August day at work, Nick McCabe, a Canadian Monster Adventures guide, was cruising down the Fraser River with his clients. Suddenly, he spotted a 650-pound (nearly 300 kg) and 10-foot-long river beast in the water.
“The fish jumped right out of the river and I said, ‘Well, that looks like a 10-footer, so strap on, we’re going to be into at least a two-hour fight,’” Nick explained to CBC News.
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2 hours and 15 minutes later, Nick managed to get the fish under control. As it turned out, the fish was the legendary white sturgeon, commonly also known as “Pig Nose.” According to the reports, the fish was around 80 years old and had a snout injury dating at least 40 years back in time.
After catching the living legend, Nick’s clients were floored in amazement. The rumors soon spread, resulting in Nick being named a local hero and a “Sturgeon Whisperer.”
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“We’re walking on clouds,” Jeff Grimolfson, River Monster Adventures co-owner, told Global News. “The living legend has been captured and lives on.”
“This fish has been the talk of fishing and sporting goods shops for years,” he continued. “As the legend lives on, you’d be in a sporting goods shop and you’d hear, ‘my buddy was sure he had Pig Nose on the line.’”
After taking pictures with the river beast, Nick and his comrades released it back into the water.
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As if he wasn’t lucky enough the first time, the Sturgeon Whisperer managed to catch the same majestic fish again on September 28, 2017. This time, the fish weighed approximately 700 pounds.
As they pulled the large fish out of the water, Nick said: “this guy looks pretty familiar.”
“I had a gut feeling it was him,” he later on explained. “He’s still putting weight on. So that’s cool to see.”
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According to the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society executive director, Sarah Schreier, there are over 47,000 white surgeons in the Fraser River alone. They are a protected and threatened river species.
“They really are a dinosaur in the river,” Sarah explained. As experts suggest, this fish predates the dinosaurs and first roamed the waters around 230 million years ago.
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