LITTLE FALLS, Minn. -- Fishing and stories go hand-in-hand. No place in the Land of 10,000 Lakes is more evident of that fact than the Minnesota Fishing Museum. Many anglers consider the museum the best kept fishing secret in the state.
"Fishing is personal and it's family oriented. It connects, it creates memories," said Mavis Buker, Director of the Minnesota Fishing Museum.
Located in downtown Little Falls, this tribute to Minnesota's fishing roots was the dream of a pair of fishing buddies.
"Al Barrett and Morrie Sawvey started this out in 1998," said Jeff Doty, President of the board of directors of the Minnesota Fishing Museum. "They had been collecting stuff and Al's basement started looking like a 1945 bait shop."
"One thing I say about the fishing museum is it's not just for people who fish, but it's for people who love people who love to fish," smiles Buker.
Throughout the museum are hundreds of display cases with someone's fishing life inside. Even a wooden boat from a Leech Lake guide service is on display, which is a good reminder of fishing's history with most boats nowadays made from fiberglass or aluminum.
Also in the museum is an antique device called a "fish locator," a sonar created by Carl Lowrance. Carl came to Minnesota 40-some years ago and even gave Ron Schara a lesson on how to use the locator. Ron has been using sonar ever since to locate fish on the bottom of rivers and lakes.
From lure makers to a frozen pond, the museum is filled with Minnesota's past, present and angling future and it's all for the viewing in Little Falls.
(Copyright 2011 by KARE. All Rights Reserved.)