Clear Lake has been prized for its bountiful fishing even long before the settlers came along. She still draws fishing enthusiasts. May 10th and 11th there will be many fishermen competing in the Walleye Classic. Each person will be hoping to hook the big one. But there is one famous fish they will definitely not catch.
Big Muskie was quite the curiosity. He was first caught in 1929 and weighed in at 19 1/2#. Muskellunge are not native to Iowa waters so many theories abounded about Big Muskie ( nicknamed Oscar) and how he came to live here.
He was caught several times over the years in 1932, 1934, and 1936. Each time Oscar made his appearance, he went on to tour the state as a special exhibition. But he always returned home to swim in Clear Lake.
Big Muskie made his final appearance in 1939. He’d been a successful fisherman himself over the years and now weighed 39# and was 53” long. He was believed to be the largest fish in our waters.
Shortly after he’d been weighed, measured, exhibited and subsequently released again, Oscar washed up on shore in June of 1939. He bore no signs of either being hooked or subjected to trauma, so his death was attributed to old age. His body was preserved by a taxidermist. He continues to greet guests in our DNRs fish hatchery.
The newspaper article is from the Globe Gazette of May 5 1939.
The 1914 photo of the catch of the day and the postcard are from the Clear Lake Library History Collection.
