9-Year-Old Lands 10-Foot Sturgeon

Keegan Rothman, a 9-year-old angler from Northfield, New Jersey, made international headlines this week for landing and releasing a 10-foot sturgeon on the Fraser River in British Columbia. It wasn’t Keegan’s first remarkable catch—fishing with his dad Dan Rothman out of south Jersey, the fanatical fisherman has landed 20-pound stripers, double-digit blackfish, a pair of 11-pound sheepshead, and numerous fluke and bluefish.

Keegan choose a sturgeon-fishing trip as his reward for earning straight ‘A’s in school, and his dad hooked up with Matt Clive and fishing guide Ben Trainer of Great River Fishing Adventures. Keegan fought the monster sturgeon for nearly two hours, the massive fish leaping completely out of the water three times before it was finally subdued, photographed, and released on a shallow beach.
Sturgeon in the Fraser River are protected and part of a mark-and-recapture program jointly run by volunteer fishing guides and the provincial government.
Scientists use the data collected to track and understand fish migration and growth patterns. A sturgeon caught and tagged in the river in 2012, for example, was discovered to have been born in 1885.
Keegan and his father released the massive fish after taking pictures and video footage of the catch. “I’ve been a professional fishing guide on the Fraser for 11 years, and this is one of my largest fish I have helped a client catch,” Trainer said in a press release. “With the size of this fish, I’d bet its over 75 years old.”