Fish Story

This evening Tanner and I walked from the cottage to Fowler's Marina and back. We left at around 2220 and returned exactly one hour later.

Crossing the pedestrian walkway over Leroy Island Bridge, we were both startled by a large THWACK just below us. Looking over the railing, I saw a splash and heard a nearby THA-WHAMP. I made out an object just breaking the bay's surface, and pressed the button on my headlamp for illumination.

There--a few yards north of the bridge--were two gargantuan fish, just barely finding room to squeeze in between the shallow bottom and the 23 degree air above. They were distanced nearly thirty feet from each other, however both were easily visible in a sweeping glance. The fish closest to me was probably 3 1/2 feet long. Conservatively I'll say that it was--without a doubt--a minimum of 3 feet long, given the normal magnification effect of a fish under water. And in this case the primordial creature was literally touching the surface, so forget about it.

The 3-plus footer and its fish-friend were too big for Walleye; I'm sure they were both Northern Pike.

Our quick tour of the grounds at Fowler's betrayed the day's ice fishermen, tracks visible from their weighed-down sleds which led from the road all the way to the boat ramp and out onto the ice between Leroy and Eagle Islands.