A couple of weeks ago, there was a surge of “Indian summer” in the TFF area. Some folks from Chicago who had rented a cabin for that week were quite pleasantly surprised at their luck with the weather. About midweek they went out fishing one day. When they came back to their rented cabin, the lady on board was shouting, “We caught a musky! We caught a musky!”
The lady in the boat quickly went to her rented cabin to retrieve a camera so she could photograph their “prize catch.”
The resident lady who owns the cabin next door to the rental cabin was among those who gathered as the boat came to the dock. The man in the boat proudly held up his “prize catch.” However, it didn’t seem to measure-up, so to speak. The lady who owns the cabin next door inquired about the size. The man said, “It’s at least 37 inches.”
The resident lady said, “Well, then that’s NOT a legal-sized musky. Is it still alive?”
The man replied, “Well it was banging around a lot in the live tank. It’s gills are still moving.”
The resident lady said, “You should release it and try to get it moving, again.”
The man from Chicago said he didn’t know how.
So, the resident lady got into the water; took the musky; and tried to resuscitate it by rubbing its belly and moving it back and forth in the water. But after 15 minutes it was obvious that it was to no avail.
The lady from Chicago returned with her camera, and was perturbed at the fact that the musky was now in the water, and she wasn’t able to get a photograph of herself holding the now dead fish. Another local couple who had witnessed the scene advised the Chicago couple that they might get into trouble for catching an illegal musky. Whereupon, the man from Chicago told his wife to pack their things. He wanted to leave.
The folks from Chicago quickly packed their car. Then, the car was seen to drive away.
The resident lady then conferred with the others with regard to the 33-inch musky now lying dead on the shore. (They measured it, to be sure.) It was suggested that the DNR should be called. So, she called and inquired if there happened to be a game warden handy on the Flowage who might be able to come to the scene. Naturally, the DNR did not choose to disclose the whereabouts of their game wardens at any particular time. But, they said that they’d file a report about the location of the musky.
Awhile later, a supervisory warden from the DNR showed up and got the information surrounding the manner in which the musky got to where it was. Then, he went over to the rental cabin and knocked on the door. To everyone’s surprise, the husband answered!
His wife was so mad at what had taken place, and that she didn’t get her wanted photograph, that she took off and left him behind!
The man admitted that he caught the illegal musky. After all, there were several witnesses who could attest to that fact. When the game warden asked for his fishing license, the man said that his wife had driven away with it.
The game warden issued a citation for the illegal musky.
But he then called-in with the information pertaining to the fisherman in question. It was then revealed that there was no record of any fishing license ever being issued to the man from Chicago. So, the game warden went back and issued another citation. One was a $200 fine, and the other was a $250 fine. The game warden explained that if the man didn’t pay the fines, an arrest warrant would be issued, and he would be subject to arrest if and when he returned to Wisconsin.
Then, the game warden placed the musky in a bag and left.
Awhile later the remorseful, but still irate wife had an apparent change-of-heart, and returned to get her husband. But as they drove away she stopped at the resident lady’s cabin. She banged on the door. When the owner answered, the irate Chicago lady shouted obscenities. The resident lady closed the door. The irate Chicago lady then banged on windows; continued to shout obscenities; gave the infamous “one finger salute,” and drove away with her husband.
Upon returning to Chicago, these folks contacted the rental agent and the cabin owner. They wanted a refund on their rental fee. They claimed that the resident lady had “formulated a lie” to the DNR concerning the size of a certain 15-inch smallmouth bass that they had caught. They claimed that they could no longer tolerate the “lying lady next door,” and had to leave. They demanded a refund of their cabin rental fee.
So, without first gathering the actual facts, both the rental agent AND the owner of the rented cabin expressed their “displeasure” (in no uncertain terms) with the resident lady next door - - a longtime acquaintance of mine. It was hinted that SHE should be responsible for returning the money to the “ill-treated” folks from Chicago.
Now,I just hafta ask: is THIS the lesson we should learn when someone actually does the right thing? Should she be chastised by others who are motivated first and primarily by monetary concerns ?
Just to set the record straight, later on, when the true facts came to light from other witnesses, the rental agent and owner of the rental cabin apologized. But, it’s obvious (at least to me) that they first tended to put the cart before the horse. To my mind, they should have first gathered the actual facts, and then they should have thanked the ”lady next door” in the initial instance, rather than chastising her.