Bob Ingrassia

I caught a fish like this in Big Eagle Lake in Big Lake, Minn., on Saturday. It put up a good fight and I was hoping it was big bass. But no, turns out it’s a bowfin. (I had to look that up)

It swallowed the hook and when I reached in with the pliers, the fish chomped my finger and drew blood. Yes, I screamed.

We tossed the fish into our fish trap. The plan was to bury it for fertilizer. But the next day when the kids were trying to get a look at it, the monster escaped. Bowfin 1, Bob 0.