Diary of a fisherwoman take five.
Most people should have at least heard of the legend of the Loch Ness Monster. If you haven’t, I suggest you Google it. It’s a bit like people who hunt for Bigfoot, Sasquatch, the Yeti or whatever you prefer to call the mythical beasts.
I’m no expert on the subject, but the gist is the Legend of Nessie began in the Scottish Highlands around 555 A.D. when a strange object/creature was spotted in the River Ness aka Loch Ness. It wouldn’t be until the 1930s until the term “monster” was applied to the creature. There is a grainy photograph that supposedly proves its existence.
Whether you believe the legend of the monster is true or think it’s a large, strange shaped smudge on the camera film is irrelevant. The only reason I’m bringing it up here is my fiancé, Tim, and I encountered our own “monster” of sorts on our last few visits to the lake.
The first sighting was when were trolling around the lake in Tim’s boat as my friend, Kate, snapped a few of our engagement photos. We have the picture of the exact moment Tim spotted the giant fins sticking out of the water.
I could tell from Tim’s expression he would have loved nothing more than to cast out a line and try to reel in the large fish, but we were there for pictures not fishing. To top it off, Kate completely freaked out, totally unsettled by the large fish that seemed to be resting at the surface. She was happy when the thing finally registered our presence and swam away, making a large splash in the process.
On our next fishing excursion to the lake, Tim and I were ready to do some good bass fishing. The June temperatures were in the upper 80s and 90s, forcing us to rise early to get to the lake while the temps were cool and the fish were biting. The lack of sleep was worth it as we pulled in 15 fish total, seven for me and eight for Tim.
As successful a day as it was out on the boat, the fishing was overshadowed by the reappearance of our large-finned friend. It made an appearance first thing as we got the boat in the water. It was again resting at the surface, the dorsal and tail fins were the only things visible.
Tim slowly and quietly steered the boat to its location and was just about to cast his line when the big fish splashed away. After mentioning how much he would love to catch it, Tim steered the boat around the lake; and we enjoyed the peaceful morning fishing.
As we made our way back toward the boat dock, we spotted the big fish again in a different spot. Tim again approached it very slowly, and this time he was able to get his line in the water. I tried my luck too; however, the lure splashed too close and scared it away. I could see the giant thing swim away. It was huge!
The fish made one final appearance. Tim had the perfect cast and had it on the line briefly. However, it let go before Tim could reel it into the boat. We saw it swim under some tree branches but didn’t spot it at the surface again.
After we returned from the lake, we showed Tim’s dad the picture I took of it while it was resting at the surface. After asking what he was looking at, he immediately said, “that’s no fish, it’s the Loch Ness Monster.” You heard it here first. Ol’ Nessie has made the trip from Scotland to Iowa.
Contact Pam Rodgers at
prodgers@newtondailynews.com