The Fish of Memories: Hooked in 1974 but Battered By Time, a Trophy Walleye is Again Bringing a Smile to the Face of Fran Young.

By Chris Niskanen, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

Jan. 14–”Many go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.” — Henry David Thoreau

FFran Young caught a walleye in 1974. And like so many other Minnesota catches, the story of her truly big fish grew even larger over the years as a piece of family lore.

Then one day, like other family memorabilia, the giant mounted walleye came off the wall and into the dustbin of memories.

“Oh, I suppose as we got older, the story sort of wore off,” said Young, 85, a longtime St. Paul resident who now resides in an assisted-living apartment in Maplewood. “My husband passed away in 1999, and I couldn’t take care of the house anymore. My oldest son said, ‘Why don’t you throw that old thing away?’ “

Fran and her husband, Lyle, were not avid anglers, but they lived in St. Paul and knew a lot of fishermen. They also knew that Lake Mille Lacs had many walleyes and that a good way to catch them in 1974, as is the case today, was to take a launch, where anglers line the sides of a large wooden boat and fish under the watchful eyes of a guide and boat pilot.

So they drove to Mille Lacs with their neighbors, Marie and Dan Pierce, and bought tickets for a Mille Lacs launch for a weekend of fishing. On the first day, Fran Young dropped her fishing rod overboard.

“We didn’t have much luck that first day,” Fran recalled. “We went dancing that night at Izaty’s (Resort), but because we didn’t do very well, it was all business the next day. I didn’t have a pole, but Dan said he had an old one in his trunk. It was held together with duct tape.”

Shortly after the launch left shore, Fran dropped her bait into the water and got it stuck on weeds. At least she thought it was weeds.

“My husband said, ‘There aren’t any weeds in the middle of Mille Lacs,’ ” Fran said, and she proceeded to crank in the largest walleye anybody on the boat had ever seen.

And just as she was about to heft it over the gunwale, her fishing rod broke in two. The boat’s guide, however, scooped up the fish.Everyone gaped at its size.

Lyle Young packed the fish in ice, and he and Fran decided to mount the fish and display it in the basement rec room. Lyle built a special display for the fish, which hung on the wall behind the bar he had built. Fran’s broken rod hung next to it.

Anyone who visited the Young basement and drank beer at Lyle’s bar was told the story of Fran’s enormous luck.

“It was a conversation piece for years,” Fran said. “No matter who came over, they were impressed that I caught the fish. They always thought my husband had caught it.”

The years weren’t kind to the walleye. The scales cracked. The skin began to peel. The story lost a bit of luster. Lyle died, and Fran was alone in the house. A decision was made to sell the family house in St. Paul.

Enter Greg Young, one of Fran’s sons and the only avid angler in the family.

“My mom loved to talk about that fish,” said Greg, 50, who lives in Willernie. “I had just graduated from high school and I don’t remember them going on that trip. When my mom moved out of the house, she gave it to me. She always knew that I was impressed with it.”

Greg had rescued the walleye from the trash can,and it followed him to Florida, where it hung on his wall in a damp climate for almost four years. The fish began to deteriorate badly. Greg still couldn’t part with it, however, because of the family memories.

“Any time there was a party in the basement, people got to see the fish,” Greg said. “My mom and dad had a fantastic marriage. It’s a reminder of them.”

When Greg moved back to Minnesota a few years ago, he hauled the walleye with him. He was torn about the fish’s future. He had rescued it once and was reluctant to finally throw it away, even though it was terribly damaged.

Then he had an idea.

For $300, he had the walleye restored by a taxidermist. Then his brother discovered an old photo of Lyle and Fran standing on the shores of Lake Mille Lacs with the Pierces. Fran held the walleye. There is Lyle, helping her hold her arm up. Lyle’s head is cut off in the snapshot, but Fran is in the frame. She is grinning wildly.

On Christmas morning three weeks ago, Greg presented his mother with the picture. She unwrapped it and smiled.

“Oh, it’s a picture of me and my fish,” Fran said brightly.

“That old fish was pretty beat up,” Greg said. “I don’t even know where it is these days.”

Greg waited a moment. Then he reached behind his back for the restored fish and gave it to Fran.

“She was speechless,” Greg said. “Then she teared up.”

While Greg’s children sat around their grandmother, Fran recalled once again the day she caught the big walleye. Memories flooded the room. Eyes moistened.

“I was glad my kids could see that,” Greg said.

Fran Young’s walleye hangs in her apartment now. It’s the talk of her apartment complex. Her neighbors are amazed by its size. And Fran happily indulges them with the story about the big one that didn’t get away.

Chris Niskanen can be reached at cniskanen@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5524.

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Copyright (c) 2007, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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