On Saturday July 13, 2024, the new muskie statue dedication was held at, of course, the location where two successive fish had reigned for six decades. Mayor Steve Geving accepted the statue on behalf of the city of Deer River. The first muskie stood from 1964-1971, and the second from 1971-2024. When the latter began to look its age and could no longer be repaired, it was clear that a new fish was needed.
The Deer River Area Community Fund took on the task of fundraising for a replacement, and the community rallied. Now, Deer River’s new big muskie, carved out of wood by Ben Selmer and Chad Danzyk of I Saw It In MN, stands in the place of its predecessors, ready for many more years of visitors and thousands more photos.
The Story Behind the First Fish
Phil Cook had known about minnows and fishing all his life. He grew up in Orr, where his father had a minnow seining business so he knew owning a bait shop would be profitable in a community full of resorts and fishing camps.
In the early 1950s Phil and Irene Cook moved their young family to Deer River and built a large two-story structure on the east end of town. The lower level housed their business, the Northwestern Bait Company, and the upper level was where the growing family lived.
While on a road trip, the family stopped in the town of Erskine where they saw a large fish statue in front of a bait shop. Cook was so impressed with it as an advertising gimmick that he asked about it. He learned that the man who made it was a farmer named Konikson who lived in the area.
Cook contacted Mr. Konikson and asked if he could make him a statue of a fish that looked like a muskie. A deal was made. In 1954, the Northwestern Bait Co. was the proud owner of the muskie Konikson had built with wire, wood, and a special type of plaster. When completed, it weighed about 1000 pounds and the family referred to it as the big fish. The bait company was right on the highway (most recently owned by George Licke), so the muskie was readily seen and often photographed by folks stopping to buy bait. It made several appearances in the early years of the Wild Rice Festival parade and was a unique float in the Duluth Centennial Parade in August 1956. There, it was towed by a station wagon belonging to, and driven by, local car dealer Shorty Sherman.
In 1964, the Cooks were expanding their business and needed more room, so they offered the fish to the village of Deer River.
The muskie was then moved near the entrance of the Welcome House (Deer River Information Center) at the junction of Highway 2 and Highway 6. This was also the year that a welcome sign proclaiming Deer River to be the Muskie Capital of Minnesota was posted along Highway 2 at the east and west city limits.
Followers of Reminisce probably recall periodic articles about the large muskies that were routinely caught in our lakes. The Deer River Association of Commerce decided it was time the community capitalized on the claim.
Muskies of Note from the Early Years
The First “Muskie”
Itasca News 5-28-1904
“The first muskellunge of the season was caught the first of the week in Moose Lake by Frank Peterson. The monster weighed 47 pounds and gave Frank a tussle. It broke his pole; he had no reel and he had to coax his greatness to shore, where he fought him into the brush with a spear. Mr. Peterson shipped the prize to friends in Minneapolis.”
“Tremain Leading Babe Ruth by Safe Margin” was the headline on the front page of the Itasca News on September 1, 1927. It is evident that the editor was caught up in the exhilarating challenge between Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig for the home run championship, but who was John Tremain and what did he have on Ruth and Gehrig?
John Tremain was a well-known local muskie fisherman. At the age of seventy-two, he had been catching trophy fish on the lakes of northern Itasca County for at least twenty years. He and his family moved from Michigan in the spring of 1903 and, by mid-summer his fishing success was recorded in the local papers, where it was noted at least once a season thereafter.
That September 1927 article stated, “John says he can get a muskie oftener than Babe Ruth can hit a home run, and just at the present time John has a lead of nine on Babe.” This statement is absolutely true. On August 31 Babe Ruth hit his forty-third home run against the Boston Red Sox and John Tremain hauled in his fifty-second muskie while guiding for Mr. Freidmann of Chicago. John proudly proclaimed that of his total of 52 muskies, twenty-five of them were over thirty inches long and two were 48 inches apiece.
Boys Go In, Grab, Ride Big Muskie
Deer River News 5-18-1933
“Richard Peck and Edward (Bud) King turned in a fish story Tuesday that takes the prize! The boys were searching for minnows in the river below the Winnibigoshish Dam when they discovered a big muskie in shallow water. Richard had a line with which he snagged the gray warrior, and watching his chance, Bud stunned him with a rock.
Then there was plenty of action. Fearing their prize might get away, Bud jumped into the water and grabbed it. Right there, Mr. Muskie took Bud for a ride, but he stuck to his hold, and shortly after that the boys had a big fellow on the bank. The incident furnished a lot of amusement for a group of spectators. The boys brought their muskie to Deer River, where it was found to weigh thirty pounds. It was 52 inches long.”
The headline of the Minneapolis Morning Tribune, Aug. 30, 1957, was “You Should Have Seen the One That Got Away!” The story and photograph were about Art Lyons, a fishing guide for High Banks Resort who caught a very large muskie on Lake Winnibigoshish. It took nearly 2 hours to land, and when they got it to shore and on to the High Banks’ scale, it weighed 57.5 pounds!
Bill and Ann Molzen, the owners of High Banks, thought it was probably a record muskie. Bill and Art quickly loaded the fish and drove to Deer River stopping first in Bena to show off the trophy. By the time they arrived in Deer River, the fish had been out of the water a couple hours. It weighed 55 pounds and measured 56 inches. The Deer River News snapped a photograph in front of the Sportsmen’s Cafe. It was decided that the fish should be taken to Minneapolis and entered into a fishing contest sponsored by the Corrie’s Sporting Goods Store. Bill drove directly to the store located on Marquette Avenue. There the official weight was declared as 54 pounds.
Nineteen years later, Lyons muskie was considered a Minnesota State Record Breaking catch, and that record was held until 2021. According to the MN DNR website, the State record (certified weight) for the largest muskie is 55 lbs, 14 oz; 57 ¾ inches long, caught in Mille Lacs Lake on 11-22-2021.
Muskie Statue No. 2
Deer River News writer Alf Madsen referred to the fish as “Mr. Muskie,” but to most everyone it was simply the big fish. Mr. Muskie had weathered another four or five winters when the Deer River Association of Commerce decided that he needed to be replaced. Bruce Lampman was commissioned to build a new muskie. Lampman’s family had spent every summer at their cabin on Moose Lake (they lived in St. Louis Park) since he was a boy, and he looked forward to the project.
Lampman did the cement parts while Chuck and Herb Wilcox, who had a welding shop in Ball Club did the welding. Then, to make sure it was realistic looking, Charlie Mechley, a Grand Rapids taxidermist, helped with coloring and stripes. When it was completed in the spring of 1971, the muskie was placed near the Guide Post (formerly the Welcome House). The jaws were wide enough for many a headshot (pun intended), and it was sturdy enough for a handful of youngsters to sit on its back.
This muskie has lasted fifty-three years! We know that it was repainted in 1978 by summer resident Nancy Anderson, and also in about 2006 by Sue (Kozisek) Cook. Chances are a time or two in between as well. When the fish sustained an injury that could not be repaired, the city of Deer River knew it needed to be replaced and was delighted when the Deer River Area Community Fund stepped forward.
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