PEETZcanada
Well-Known Member
Noah set out with just one goal in mind, to catch a monster sturgeon on the Fraser River in British Columbia using an OG PEETZ reel. He did just that.
Noah came into the PEETZ workshop located at 2740 Rock Bay Avenue in Victoria to ask me to get a reel made up in time for his excursion. Basically i had three days to accomplish the task at hand. I converted a classic 6-in into an Evolution drag system in time for his fishing trip with his dad who is flying out from Ontario specifically to go fishing for sturgeon on the mighty Fraser River.
I called Noah on Friday afternoon to let him know that is reel was ready to pick up. He informed me that he would be in on Monday morning to get it on his way to the Vancouver ferry so that he would be there for the following day of fishing on the Fraser River for sturgeon with his dad.
Noah tells me that they had an amazing day of sturgeon fishing. They caught a few small ones prior to asking the guide if he could use his reel to try and catch a monster with it. His guide kind of laughed and allowed him to do it.
It was just a few minutes after placing the bait out in the river that they had their first hit on it, he didn't strike the rod hard enough, therefore not setting the hook and the fish got off. Again, it wasn't much longer and they had another hit this time he leaned right into it struck hard and the fish was on, the fight started.
Oh what a battle, he describes to me and tells me how the reel is cranked as tight as they could possibly make the drag. The fish is still pulling line, never stopping for at least a minute to 2 minutes. He says the real is going so hard and he's trying to palm the reel, but he's hitting his hand with the knobs of the spool. He has a handle let go due to extreme pressure being transferred from him to the reel and from the fish right back at him. The PEETZ keeps spinning and burning the palm of his hand so often that he had to ask for a glove to relieve the pain and act as a buffer while palming the spool to hopefully slow the monster down.
After quite a lot of time, between he and his dad battling the beast, they finally got it under control and slowly drifted towards shore to officially land and measure and scan the animal. It's the largest fish and longst battle that Noah has ever experienced fishing across Canada. A day to remember for sure.
He popped into the workshop this morning to share his tale, photos and video and his overall enthusiasm for this old classic reel that was converted to the Evolution drag system. He told me that his guide was super impressed about how the reel accomplished an amazing end result for an old salmon reel. His guide did mention that he would never use a PEETZ as an everyday sturgeon reel, but he was thoroughly impressed how it preformed and that he would never question its validity as a salmon or halibut reel.
To me, that says quite a lot. The reel now hangs proudly on the wall of the PEETZ workshop in Victoria, signed dated and proudly marked with the length and estimated weight.
This is the second big sturgeon battle that I know of since taking the helm at PEETZ. I have also included a couple of photos of Tom Cavanaugh and his fish.
Both of these anglers describe their big monsters as fish of a lifetime, a battle to remember. Two different anglers, two separate fishing excursions, both love PEETZ.
Full story:
Noah came into the PEETZ workshop located at 2740 Rock Bay Avenue in Victoria to ask me to get a reel made up in time for his excursion. Basically i had three days to accomplish the task at hand. I converted a classic 6-in into an Evolution drag system in time for his fishing trip with his dad who is flying out from Ontario specifically to go fishing for sturgeon on the mighty Fraser River.
I called Noah on Friday afternoon to let him know that is reel was ready to pick up. He informed me that he would be in on Monday morning to get it on his way to the Vancouver ferry so that he would be there for the following day of fishing on the Fraser River for sturgeon with his dad.
Noah tells me that they had an amazing day of sturgeon fishing. They caught a few small ones prior to asking the guide if he could use his reel to try and catch a monster with it. His guide kind of laughed and allowed him to do it.
It was just a few minutes after placing the bait out in the river that they had their first hit on it, he didn't strike the rod hard enough, therefore not setting the hook and the fish got off. Again, it wasn't much longer and they had another hit this time he leaned right into it struck hard and the fish was on, the fight started.
Oh what a battle, he describes to me and tells me how the reel is cranked as tight as they could possibly make the drag. The fish is still pulling line, never stopping for at least a minute to 2 minutes. He says the real is going so hard and he's trying to palm the reel, but he's hitting his hand with the knobs of the spool. He has a handle let go due to extreme pressure being transferred from him to the reel and from the fish right back at him. The PEETZ keeps spinning and burning the palm of his hand so often that he had to ask for a glove to relieve the pain and act as a buffer while palming the spool to hopefully slow the monster down.
After quite a lot of time, between he and his dad battling the beast, they finally got it under control and slowly drifted towards shore to officially land and measure and scan the animal. It's the largest fish and longst battle that Noah has ever experienced fishing across Canada. A day to remember for sure.
He popped into the workshop this morning to share his tale, photos and video and his overall enthusiasm for this old classic reel that was converted to the Evolution drag system. He told me that his guide was super impressed about how the reel accomplished an amazing end result for an old salmon reel. His guide did mention that he would never use a PEETZ as an everyday sturgeon reel, but he was thoroughly impressed how it preformed and that he would never question its validity as a salmon or halibut reel.
To me, that says quite a lot. The reel now hangs proudly on the wall of the PEETZ workshop in Victoria, signed dated and proudly marked with the length and estimated weight.
This is the second big sturgeon battle that I know of since taking the helm at PEETZ. I have also included a couple of photos of Tom Cavanaugh and his fish.
Both of these anglers describe their big monsters as fish of a lifetime, a battle to remember. Two different anglers, two separate fishing excursions, both love PEETZ.
Full story:
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