After more than a decade, the legendary Ghost has finally been caught.
On a guided expedition just south of Lillooet, River Monster Adventures (RMA) landed the biggest sturgeon in its history. The fish, nicknamed “Ghost” for his infrequent appearances, is a hulking, untagged white sturgeon measuring 10 feet, two inches long with a five-foot girth—outpacing RMA’s previous record holder, Pig Nose.
“Ghost is easily identified by his curled dorsal fins, a rare feature that indicates he’s a very old fish estimated to be over 120 years old,” RMA owner and boat captain Jeff Grimolfson wrote to Pique.
“We believe we’ve seen him a couple of times over the years—either on our sonar or possibly breaching—but actual sightings have been rare.”
The catch, which took more than an hour to reel in, was the result of what Grimolfson called “a total team effort” involving himself, longtime clients Ian and Glen and deckhand Wynn.
“Everyone agreed it was the best day ever … and couldn’t stop talking about it! When we realized we had Ghost, everyone’s adrenaline was through the roof,” Grimolfson wrote. “To land a fish this size in our rocky waters is truly an accomplishment.”
Sturgeon of this size are exceptionally rare. Thanks to the team’s participation in the sturgeon conservation tagging program, Ghost’s capture may help researchers better understand the population health of this ancient species. White sturgeon in the Fraser Basin are federally listed as threatened, and the population has been in long-term decline due to habitat loss, migration barriers and historical overfishing.
Ghost had never been tagged before—suggesting he had eluded both commercial and conservation crews for decades.
“We are strictly catch-and-release,” said Grimolfson of RMA. “We tagged Ghost and recorded all the relevant data before releasing him back into the river.”
Ghost now joins the ranks of mythical fish landed in the Lillooet region, an area known for producing river monsters of epic proportions. In 2016, RMA made headlines when it caught “Pig Nose,” a similarly massive sturgeon distinguished by his red nose. That fish weighed more than 600 pounds (272 kilograms) and was believed to be more than 80 years old.
As for Ghost?
“He’s now the talk of the town,” said Grimolfson. “To finally catch a fish we’ve been chasing for over a decade … it’s something none of us will ever forget.”
Check out River Monster Adventures’ Facebook post on Ghost’s capture here.
