Outside Looking In

Fish tales
As a longtime fisherman, I have had my share of bad luck, bad weather and funny stories.
I used to write a fishing column for another newspaper called "Lures and Lunkers" and would get most of my stories from the various lakes around central and southern Minnesota.
When I would be out fishing in the central Minnesota area, I would always stop and ask bait shop owners or resort owners if they had heard of any monster fish catches or any interesting stories that I could write about. It seemed like everyone had an interesting fish story to tell.
One story that I wrote in 1984 has always been a particular favorite of mine for several reasons. It was the most unusual fish story that I had ever heard of or written about, I became friends with the party involved, and the story was eventually told on WCCO radio after they had read my story in the newspaper.
The man and his wife, who grew up in Minnesota, would come to Green Lake and stay for two weeks every summer. This particular summer, Alvin and Dorothy had an extremely successful time fishing. The first day, the couple landed 13 large crappies, three walleyes and two northerns, and had a fish fry with some of the neighbors at the lake.
The fishing continued to be successful each and every time the couple went out in their boat over the two weeks.
On the day before their vacation would end and they would leave to return to Montana, Alvin and Dorothy fished several hours and had several bites and a couple of bigger fish "got away."
Alvin wanted to catch one more fish so he admittedly could boast to his friends back home that he never went one day without landing a fish on his trip. After packing most of their belongings in order to leave early the next morning, Alvin decided to try one last time that night.
Dorothy was tired and decided to stay in their rented cabin, so Alvin went out alone. Figuring he had one hour left of daylight, he told his wife he would be back shortly.
As the sun was setting and storm clouds rolling in, Dorothy became a little concerned that Alvin hadn't returned yet. Another 30 minutes passed and she became very worried as it was now dark out. With no cell phones, she had no way to check to see if he was okay.
Finally, Alvin returned. Frantic, Dorothy began lecturing her husband that he should have stopped fishing sooner.
Alvin explained to her he was unable to come in sooner because he was busy landing a large northern for over 20 minutes.
With darkness setting in, Alvin was about to call it quits when a large fish nearly pulled him out of the boat, he told. He struggled with the fish until his arms ached but he was determined to not let this one get away.
Alvin was finally able to muster enough strength to get the fish close enough to the boat to net it. With one hand trying to hold this fishing pole steady and the northern's head up, he made several unsuccessful swipes at the fish with the net.
Alvin was wearing an old Army jacket that had two unbuttoned breast pockets and kept his wallet in one of the pockets. Finally, he was able to get the fish in the net and began lifting it into the boat.
He plopped the fish and net into the bottom of the boat with a loud thud and then sat down to relax for a second. It was then that Alvin realized his wallet was missing and must have fallen into the lake when he leaned over to net the fish.
He searched for several minutes for the wallet in the dark water, hoping it would be floating by the boat. With his search unsuccessful, Alvin motored back to shore without it.
Once ashore, Alvin told his wife he had good news and bad. The good news was that he caught a 12-pound northern, the biggest he had ever caught. The bad news was that it cost him his wallet which contained over 200 dollars.
Dorothy then went down to the dock to help Alvin unload the boat in the dark with flashlights. Alvin shined his light in the bottom of the boat to show Dorothy the fish that was still in the net in the bottom of the boat. The northern's teeth were hooked on both sides of the net, leaving the mouth agape.
"Alvin, take a closer look," Dorothy said to her husband with a laugh.
The soggy wallet was laying inside the fish's mouth, having dropped right in while Alvin was netting it, just like sinking a shot in basketball.
Before the Montana couple left for home, I received a call from a Green Lake resort owner about the fish. I quickly drove the 15 miles from my home and met them at the lake for an interview.
I eventually sent them a copy of the story I had written about this once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Alvin left the fish with a taxidermist near the lake so he could have the fish mounted. The finished product included Alvin's wallet showing inside the northern's open mouth.
Alvin and Dorothy returned the following year to pick up the mounted fish and invited me out for a fish fry. That was the last year they made the trip to Minnesota, but we have stayed in touch ever since.
Dorothy informed me last week that Alvin had passed away at the age of 91.
Rest in peace, Alvin. You were one of the best, soggy wallet or not.