Small boy lands monster sturgeon; described as `10-foot dinosaur’

A 9-year-old boy said landing a prehistoric-looking fish measuring 10 feet long and weighing 600 pounds was a dream come true–and more than a little bit scary.

“I thought the fish was going to pull me into the water,” Kegan Rothman told Calgary Sun, in reference to the massive white sturgeon he caught Monday on the Fraser River.

After measurements were taken–the fish also boasted a 50-inch girth–the sturgeon was tagged and released. (The video below shows Kegan coaxing the sturgeon into a deeper portion of river, where it slowly swims out of sight.)

“I’ll never forget this–this is the best trip of my life,” said Kegan, who was fishing with his father, Dan Rothman, and guide Ben Trainer from Great River Fishing Adventures.

This was among the largest sturgeon caught on the Fraser River, and certainly the largest caught by a 9-year-old who stands only 4 feet tall.

“I’ve been a professional fishing guide on the Fraser River for 11 years and have fished these rivers my whole life. This is one of the largest fish I have helped a client catch,”

Kegan hooked the fish himself, but his dad helped during part of a battle that lasted nearly two hours. Great River Fishing Adventures described the accomplishment as “a nearly impossible feat.”

A banner headline on its website reads, “Real Life Jurrasic World,” in reference to the new hit movie, and describes the fish as “a 10-foot dinosaur.”

It’s not that big of a stretch considering the primitive appearance of the fish, and that that fossil records of sturgeon date back 200 million years.

Kegan’s fish was estimated to be more than 75 years old. It becomes one of about 61,000 white sturgeon Great River Fishing Adventures guides have helped tagged since 1995.

Maybe the next time it surfaces, it’ll be a much larger dinosaur, as white sturgeon can measure 20-plus feet.