I grew up in Wisconsin fishing with my Uncle Ned at my grandfather’s cottage on lake Lucerne. Amongst the many fish tales of the Great Lakes is the legend of the fur bearing trout. A furry fish that is said to have evolved do to the extremely cold temperatures.
Many believe that the legend comes from the fresh water mold called saprolegnia. Saprolegnia will sometimes infect fish, causing tufts of fur-like growth to appear on the body. A heavy infection will result in the death of the fish, and as the fungus continues to grow afterwards, dead fish that are largely covered in the white “fur” can occasionally be found washed ashore.
At some point locals started making them in faux taxidermy. They are a common site in bars and bait shops. Here are two of them that Ive recently made and added my grandfather, Curtis Romaine, as the fisherman and his home town as the catch spot.
Http://justinalanarnold.etsy.com









