A few weeks before the Ministry of Natural Resources’s Trout Project was in full swing, long-time guest Ray Gildersleeve came to me with an interesting photo. It was a carving of a fish in the shoreline! I knew that Dan Baughman would know the story so I emailed Dan this photo, and here is what he said.
A lake trout carving in Pipestone Narrows
photo by Ray Gildersleeve
A few years ago, this lake trout was carved into the soapstone of Pipestone Narrows by a man named Paul Fazekas. A resident of Red Lake until his retirement, Paul worked for the MNR firefighting division. He also was a fish decoy carver. This lake trout carving was Paul’s way of paying tribute to the lake trout and the many people (which included Paul) who have worked diligently to restore the population of this fish in Red Lake. Dan also said that this is the first time he has heard of anyone seeing the carving, which probably is because the water level of Red Lake was down a bit this year.
So our thanks go out to Paul Fazekas for sharing his art on the shores of Red Lake. And now you have something to watch for on your next trip to Bow Narrows. Will it be visible next year? You’ll have to come see!