Hugh Fisher came to Canada in 1965 and settled in Burnaby. He began canoeing and kayaking in 1971 on Deer Lake and in 1974 began to train seriously for competition.

In 1975, Fisher won the Junior K-2 and Senior K-4 events. In 1976 at the Olympic Games in Montreal, Fisher was part of the Canadian K-4 1000m team which finished tenth.

Fisher became Canadian Champion 22 times in various events. At the world championships in 1982, with his partner Alwyn Morris, of Caughnawaga, Quebec, Fisher won silver in the 1000m kayak event. In 1983, again at the world championships, he and his partner placed third in the K-2 500m event.

Fisher and Morris captured the gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles in the K-2 1000m event, setting a new world record of three minutes 24.22 seconds, and also brought home a bronze in the 500m K-2 event.

As well as competing in kayaking competitions, Fisher travelled to Hawaii several times to compete in outrigger canoe races. His team has won four world outrigger canoe racing championships. After retiring from competition, Fisher became actively involved in the sport as the provincial coach in charge of sport development.