​

 

In 1954, Edwin got a tip of a world record size Muskie in a small lake on the Mississippi river chain in Northern Minnesota. Edwin followed up on that tip and moved his Muskie fishing to Minnesota where he caught some big fish, one being the state record at the time. In 1957 Edwin's son Bruce joined him on the water and the two continued the hunt for a world record Muskie. A couple years passed with no sign of a record-sized fish; Edwin told Bruce it was maybe time to move on. That all changed, however, one late evening when there was a knock on their cabin door. It was another fisherman who was staying at the same resort. Edwin had talked with this guy down at the dock the day before, so he knew Edwin was a Muskie fisherman. The guy came in visibly shaking as he told them about being out fishing for walleyes that evening with his wife and daughter. It was getting low light he said, when this giant Muskie surfaced alongside their boat. It was 7 feet long, the scariest thing he had ever seen. He said his wife and daughter will never go out on the lake again and asked Edwin to please catch that monster. Edwin thanked him for the trip and told him he would do his best to remove that Muskie from the lake. The spot he described was not a place they had fished before so it would be interesting to check out. With a lead like that, the thought of moving to another lake was over. They would return and work that spot every weekend. Then it happened, this monster Muskie, the guy told them about, followed Edwin's bucktail up to the boat. Edwin had to sit down to recover after seeing this giant fish. It was not just a giant Muskie; this fish was beyond anything Edwin could ever imagen. Like the guy said, it was close to 7 feet in length, just too much to comprehend. Edwin thought it could be the last of an extinct strain, that somehow managed to survive in the Mississippi river chain of lakes. It was sandy brown in color with no markings, which does happen when Muskies grow to record size. What made this Muskie different, was its huge eyes. It was a scary looking creature which they named Big Eye. They fished 3 years for this monster having encounters with it, one could never imagine. Big Eye would often come up on the surface not far away just to look at them, then slowly sink away.  The fish showed a leave of intelligence that made them question their end game of killing this incredible fish. After years of fishing for Big Eye, it finally hit one of Edwin's homemade black bucktails and the battle was on.

 
  Back in those days many Muskie fishermen would carry a pistol to dispatch large Muskies before lifting them in the boat. This was not a practice Edwin used. He would land his big fish by grabbing them under the gill plate and lifting them in the boat. After seeing the size of Big Eye however, he decided it would be best to use a pistol once this giant fish was played out and alongside the boat. He also made a special style gaff that would clamp down into the fish just behind its head. These were different times for sure. Edwin had Bruce keep a pistol in his tackle box, but keep the loaded clip in his pocket, to be safe. One day as the two headed out to fish Big Eyes spot, Bruce realized he had forgotten the clip for the pistol up in the cabin. He told Edwin to stop; I forgot the clip for the pistol. Edwin replied, “No problem, we have the large gaff and continued across the lake. Edwin pulled into the shoreline about 100 yards down from where Big Eye's favorite spot was. Before they started casting, Edwin said he had a good feeling about the day which fired up Bruce, because his dad seemed to have a sixth sense about Muskie's, many times calling it before something big would happen. Just then after getting to Big Eyes spot, by the big saw cut log which had floated up from the bottom on one end, Edwin called out, "I got him”. Bruce looked over and saw a boil on the surface about 5 feet in diameter. Take the oars and get us out into deep water, Edwin said in a now concerned voice. Bruce sat down and started to row. He could see the huge dark amber colored fins of Big Eye on the surface about 10 yards behind. Big Eye was following along most of the time, but when this giant Muskie would put on the brakes, his dad would call out to stop rowing. After they got out to deeper water, Edwin said, that should be good, Bruce quickly stowed the oars away and grabbed the special made extra-large scissor gaff. Bruce cocked the gaff all the way back and stood at the ready as Edwin slowly reeled in line. Before Big Eye came into sight it dove down under the boat. Edwin had to work the line around the transom then under the outboard coming up on the other side. By that time Big Eye had already surfaced about 15 feet out. They had seen Big Eye many times when it fallowed a lurer up to the boat and when it would come to the surface in evenings to look at them, but never in full daylight and never this close. The sight of this giant fish laying there 6 inches out of water in good light was totally unbelievable. They knew its eyes were incredibly large, almost 2 inches in diameter, but this was the first time Big Eye was this close looking directly at them. Its eyes were hypnotic to the point they both froze for a few seconds. Bruce had to look away to clear his head. I cannot move him Edwin said, then told Bruce to take the oars again, we need to beach this guy. Just then, Big Eye started smashing its huge jaws together and shaking its head from side to side with so much power, they could feel the anger it had of being hooked. The sound of its giant jaws smashing together was something they would never forget. Then in a matter of seconds the bucktail flew out and landed in the boat. It was over, Big Eye was no longer hooked. They both stood there in total defeat. This monster fish had won the battle but still lay there looking at them. It seemed like it was processing what had just happened as they stood there doing the same. Then this incredible fish from another world slowly sank away, taking their dreams with it. They sat down in the boat and did not talk. After some time, Edwin started the outboard and headed back to the dock. They loaded up and took off for home, neither of them talked all the way back to the Twin Cities, there was nothing to say, they had just lost a Muskie that would destroy the world record and be impossible to match. The defeated feeling they had would haunt them throughout the winter. They both felt it was the last chance they would ever have at catching, Big Eye. After fishing for two more years with no sighting of Big Eye, Edwin decided it was time to move on. They went back Muskie fishing in Hayward, Wisconsin, but it would never be the same. Edwin had some health issues in the late 60s which retired him from Muskie fishing, but he always loved sharing stories with Bruce about the adventures they had together chasing that incredible Muskie, Big Eye.  
  Years later they heard of a monster Muskie on the French River, told by an old Muskie fisherman who had encounters with a giant unworldly like fish. This guy described a fish exactly like Big Eye, even the huge eyes. 

​At one time there must have been a strain of Muskies that could grow to a much larger size, and Edwin just happened to encounter one of the last fish of that strain. In any case, Big Eye did exist and was a total Monster Muskie.

 Edwin didn't catch the record Muskie he was after, but the adventures he had trying, cannot be matched.

​