Lifelong Innisfil resident, Jim Cole, has been fishing and hunting all of his life.
As a youngster, Jim was featured in the Toronto Sun for catching a Muskie as big as he was, and he has been on the hunt for “the big, big one” ever since.
On his annual trek to British Columbia, Jim and his wife Elayne headed out with their fishing buddy Paul Strong (a former Innisfil resident himself, who now lives fulltime in B.C.) to catch a living dinosaur – a river sturgeon.
Not only did Jim catch one monster fish – he caught 12! And he has the pictures to prove it.
From their jet boat in the Frasier River, the couple used roe bags, salmon bellies and small fish to lure in their giant catch.
“We went fishing for sturgeon for the first time last year in B.C. and we’ve been hooked ever since,” Jim told the Scope. “It’s the ultimate in fishing. You could say it was on my ‘Bucket List’ of things to do. I wanted to catch these monsters.”
Although Jim sacrificed countless hours and even his rubber roots (which fell over board in his struggle to lure in the huge fish) it was worth it.
“My wife was scared,” said Jim on his reeling efforts. “My wife thought I was going to have ‘The Big One’ and stood close by with nitrous-glycerin in hand.”
The 8’4” long sturgeon had “ugly, sharp fins” and was 40” in girth, weighing an approximate 357 pounds. The 75-year old fish was micro-chipped using wire mesh gloves and released for another angler to hunt.
Jim’s next big dream is to catch a “big halibut” in Alaska, but he’s still looking forward to ice fishing on Lake Simcoe this winter.
By Wendy Soloduik
