Big catch

While pro anglers Ken and Steve Ballan didn’t win the big prize at last weekend’s Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship, the duo came away from the tourney with by far the biggest catch—a moose calf.

The brothers, along with Kent’s wife Michelle and Len Bedard, spied the distressed animal while pre-fishing for the event, according to a story on the Fort Frances Times Online. Said Steve Ballan or the unusual sighting:

“We were just fishing a series of rock piles and we looked over and about 500-600 yards away we saw this thing swimming around.”

After watching the animal swim in circles for 40 minutes, the group decided to get a closer look. After a couple of tries, they managed to free the young moose from the rope or net or heavy fishing line it was caught up in, and towed the animal to a nearby island. Kent Ballan managed to tape much of the encounter, which is available here. Said Steve Ballan of the outcome:

“We just backed away and let her be. We watched her for well over an hour and she stayed right there in the water near shore.”

Unfortunately for the Ballan brothers, the encounter didn’t help the pair in the tournament, where they finished 95 out of 124 teams. But they’ve certainly got a good excuse.