The staff of Western Sportsman and BC Outdoors magazine met up last week on the Fraser River, near Mission, BC, for a day of sturgeon fishing -- and what a day!

Anyone who hasn't fished for these brutes has to try. Our biggest of the day was 63 inches long; a fish  nearly 70 years of age. And that is about half as big and half as old as they get.

These fish are truly amazing: a strictly managed catch-and-release fishery, white sturgeon are North America's largest freshwater fish. They are literally dinosaurs, unchanged for 650 million years.

If you're interested in booking a trip, contact Giver on the River charters -- they were great to us, guiding a few "sturgeon virgins" to their fist catch.

BC Outdoors editor Mike Mitchell and I cruised the river in a Harbercraft JMax, filming all the action. Interested in seeing the footage? Check out YouTube to watch the video. But be warned -- once you see it, there's no turning back -- you'll be on your way to the coast for some action of your own.

What a great fall day -- but now we're back in Edmonton, and hunting season is in full swing.

Online fishing articles: http://acrossandabroad.com/tag/fishing/ 

I love the fall!

 Western Sportsman art director Wendy Carefoot (right) and Western Sportsman/BC Outdoors Account Manager Elizabeth Brown (left) with their first sturgeon. Check out the BC Outdoors boat in the background!