Former NHL player's monster catch inspires Missouri woman to reel in 1,200-pound sturgeon

Sometimes all it takes is a little inspiration from an NHL player to land the fish of a lifetime. Or, in Katharine Eckert's case, a fish that could weigh more than half a ton.

The Missouri woman decided to book a sturgeon fishing trip in British Columbia after reading about NHL defenseman Nick Leddy catching a monster fish with Canadian outfitter Sturgeon Slayers back in 2024. She figured it sounded like a pretty cool vacation activity.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE FROM OUTKICK OUTDOORS

"I saw that article and thought, that would be really cool to do sometime," Eckert told FOX 2 in St. Louis. "Just something different to do on vacation rather than going to the beach or whatever."

What she didn't expect was to reel in an 11-foot, 4-inch white sturgeon estimated to weigh between 1,100 and 1,200 pounds— a catch her guide believes could be the largest freshwater fish ever caught by a woman.

Eckert, who lives in Maplewood, Mo., was fishing the Fraser River near Chilliwack, British Columbia, with her boyfriend, Justin, and Sturgeon Slayers founder Kevin Estrada when she hooked into the massive fish.

The ensuing battle lasted about 40 minutes.

"I remember thinking, 'My gosh, this is really hard,'" Eckert told FOX 2. "Once we got it closer to the boat, seeing it come out of the water a little bit, and realizing, 'Oh, we have something really incredible,' ... I was in shock, but also grateful for the experience."

According to Estrada, the sturgeon measured 60 inches around its body near the pectoral fins and a whopping 70 inches around its belly.

"Katharine's sturgeon was just as fat as the longer fish caught a week earlier by the men," Estrada told Wired2Fish, referring to another giant sturgeon his company had helped land.

That fish measured 11 feet, 8 inches and was also estimated at roughly 1,200 pounds.

Estrada said he hasn't been able to find a documented freshwater catch by a female angler that exceeds Eckert's fish. However, the potential world record comes with a caveat: The sturgeon was never officially weighed.

White sturgeon on British Columbia's Fraser River are protected under catch-and-release regulations, meaning anglers cannot keep them to put them on a certified scale. Instead, guides estimate their weight using measurements.

So while Eckert's catch is certainly a contender for the record books, it isn't an officially certified world record.

WORLD-RECORD BLUEFIN TUNA CAUGHT OFF THE COAST OF SAN DIEGO ON ROD AND REEL BY SPORT FISHERMAN

For Eckert, though, the experience was plenty rewarding without a certificate.

She grew up fishing for bass and catfish with her dad and has long been fascinated by sturgeon. In fact, she has a sturgeon tattoo and even named her dog Caviar.

Still, nothing quite prepared her for standing alongside one of these prehistoric giants.

"The pictures don't really do it justice," she told FOX 2. "Being in the presence of something that big in the moment is definitely something I'll never forget."

And the fish didn't just provide a great story and some incredible photos.

SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY OUTKICK NEWSLETTER

Eckert and the guides also helped collect valuable data for sturgeon conservation efforts. The fish was measured, tagged and safely released back into the Fraser River, where researchers can potentially track it in the future.

Love all things fishing and outdoors? Follow OutKick OutDoors on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube!