Fish Kitsch

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Finned monuments are familiar sights for travelers on Minnesota’s fishing thoroughfares.

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fish

By Michael A. Kallok

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kitsch Around the state, statues made from wood, wire, steel, concrete, plaster, and fiberglass take on the forms of walleye, northern, muskie, trout, and panfish. Individually, these roadside attractions represent a source of local pride. Collectively, they point to the importance of the $3 billion anglers spend in Minnesota each year.

Titanic totems of walleye grace destinations such as Isle, Garrison, Baudette, Kabetogama, and Rush City. But sculptures of the state fish aren’t the most common. There are more than 35 fiberglass sunfish in the city of Detroit Lakes alone. Billy Bluegill welcomes anglers to the city of Orr and the legendary panfish waters of Pelican Lake.

In 1957 Art Lyons caught Minnesota’s 54-pound state-record muskie from Lake Winnibigoshish.

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Fittingly, Lyons’ hometown of Bena, on the south shore of Winni, features the state’s largest monument to the mighty muskie. Built in 1958, the 65-foot-long Big Muskie Drive-In, as it was known then, allowed visitors to dine inside the belly of the behemoth. Super-sized statues of the fish of 10,000 casts also appear on the east side of Mille Lacs and in the towns of Deer River and Nevis.

Though southeastern Minnesota has few natural lakes, this troutfishing paradise isn’t lacking a monument to fish. The city of Preston honors the region’s hundreds of miles of coldwater streams with a 19-foot-long fiberglass brown trout.

Around the state these lunker-sized landmarks lure anglers to stay and fish, so here is a sampling—our tribute to Minnesota’s distinct brand of kitsch.

Minnesota Conservation Volunteer

Baudette Kabetogama Orr Erskine Detroit Lakes

Bena Nevis

Deer River

Garrison

Isle Isle

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New Prague Preston

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Photography by Chelsea Jackson

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3 Billy Bluegill Created in the early 1980s to extol Pelican Lake’s plattersized panfish, Billy Bluegill resides along U.S. Highway 53 in Orr. Like the schooling fish he represents, Billy Bluegill has an active social life on Facebook and YouTube.

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Willie Walleye Willie Walleye in Baudette is Minnesota’s largest statue to salute Sander vitreus.

This fixture, which has welcomed anglers to Lake of the Woods since 1959, is 40 feet long and weighs a whopping 2.5 tons. In June, a celebration known as Willie Walleye Day commemorates the creation of this colossal concrete fish.

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¤ Lake Kabetogama Walleye Near Voyageurs National Park, alongside U.S. Highway 53, the Lake Kabetogama walleye has entertained tourists since the 1950s. Taking the novelty of fish statues up a notch, this walleye sports a saddle for visitors to perch on while being photographed.

4 The world’s largest Northern Pike

Between Bemidji and Crookston in northwestern Minnesota, Erskine is home to the world’s largest monument to northern pike. Built in the 1950s, the statue is 27 feet long and 6 feet wide.

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World’s largest

Deer River Muskie

Tiger Muskie

Deer River’s muskie was built for a local bait shop in the 1950s and was later acquired by the city. It now resides off of U.S. Highway 2 near the intersection of Division Street.

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This toothy tourist attraction in Nevis was sculpted with wood and plaster in 1949. In July 1950, Nevis held its inaugural Muskie Days celebration. The tiger muskie, a centerpiece of the festivities, was dedicated as the world’s largest by Gov. Luther Youngdahl.

The Big Fish Countless tourists have stopped in Bena and stood for a photo in the jaws of The Big Fish. This gem of roadside Americana was built in 1958 as a food stand. It has caught national attention more than once including an appearance on Charles Kuralt’s TV series On the Road. In 2009, this 65-foot-long monument was restored after landing on the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota’s list of endangered historic places.

8 Detroit Lakes

Sunnies

In 2002 the city of Detroit Lakes sold 50 fiberglass sunfish to local businesses. Then, area artists gave the sunfish unique treatments such as this mosaic of glass beads and tile. More than 35 of these colorful fish can still be seen around the city.

10 The Isle Walleye On the east side of Mille Lacs Lake, in the quaint fishing village of Isle, a stately replica of the state fish hovers on the corner of Main Street and Third Avenue.

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9 The Garrison Walleye Alongside U.S. Highway 169, on the west side of Mille Lacs Lake, the Garrison walleye has been a familiar sight for visitors to central Minnesota’s crown jewel since the mid-1970s. The Garrison Concourse Wayside Park, where the statue resides, is also one of the best spots to take in a sweeping view of this vast 128,000-acre lake.

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May–June 2011

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Mean Walleye Three monuments to ol’ marble eye can be spotted if you circumnavigate Mille Lacs Lake by car. But there is only one Mean Walleye. This 20-footlong, fierce-looking fiberglass walleye swims next to an equally exaggerated muskie at Johnson’s Portside, a mile north of Isle on state Highway 47.

Big Sunfish Fishtale Bar & Grill in New Prague doesn’t offer sunfish on its menu, but it does feature a billboard-sized bluegill that could make for one whopper of a fish story. The fish was purchased in the late 1990s to lure hungry folks to this fishthemed establishment.

¤ 13 The Preston Trout Situated in the heart of southeastern Minnesota’s trout-stream country, the city of Preston boasts a 19-foot-long fiberglass brown trout. Built in the mid-1980s, the statue sits atop a trailer. Usually it resides in front of the Preston Tourism Center on U.S. Highway 52. In mid-May, the mobile trout is a highlight of the Preston Trout Days parade. n V

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Minnesota Conservation Volunteer

SCAN IT: Map a course to Minnesota’s fish monuments.

Scan this tag or visit bit.ly/fishkitsch to view more images along with a map and directions to the statues in this article and others around the state.

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