These stories can also be heard on Sunday mornings around 10 am on WILD 102’s “Look Back in Time” program. Each week’s radio story will be posted here on our website.
Weekly radio stories are researched, compiled, and read by Sheila Winstead, RCHS Board Member.
June 15, 2025
Last week I read an article from a 1957 Roseau Times-Region about Alma Dahlquist, newly retired after 40 years as a telephone operator. Today I’ll read about her husband, Emmett Dahlquist, from articles published the same year, 1957.
Emmett Dahlquist has removed all doubt, once and for all! He’s KING of the Roseau county fishermen and for once, he’s caught a fish no fisherman would have to lie about! Sunday he tagged onto a Lake of the Woods sturgeon which weighed well over 70 pounds when caught and tipped the scales at 67 pounds hours later! It is believed to be the largest fish ever brought to Roseau.
To the amazement of everyone, he caught the giant fish (probably as old or older than himself) on a 25-pount test line and a small pike hook. He was fishing near Burton Island at the time.
“I felt a big tug first,” Emmett told the Times-Region. “I yelled to Bob (Dr. Bob Harris), that I had a walleye on that was at least 25 pounds.” The fish got away.
“I’ll catch him again,” Emmett told bystanders and before he had scarcely finished the words, he had another tremendous tug.
“I knew it was something really big so I brought it up in the hole real careful,” he confided.
He just got the giant up to the hole when his leader broke! There was some frantic yelling and scrambling by that time for he had seen part of the creature and knew it was huge.
Dr. Bob Harris, who was fishing nearby, came racing over to help. They managed to get a firm hold on the sturgeon’s head and began to heave. “The head came through the hole alright, but we had a terrible time getting the rest of him through,” Emmett confided. Finally, however, they had the big fish safely out of the water and layed out on the ice where they stared in open-mouthed amazement at the over five feet of fish!
They immediately bled it (reporting it had a tremendous amount of blood which must have diminished its weight considerably when it was drained out), and Emmett had to recount the battle for the crowd which had gathered on the ice.
They weighed it that evening on the way home and recorded its weight at 67 pounds. The giant fish was on display at Coast-to-Coast all Monday and drew almost a steady crowd all day. The age of the fish might be somewhere near 50 years or so since these fish do not reproduce until they are around 25 years of age, according to Game Biologist Lester Magnus who didn’t wish to conjecture on its actual age.
At one time sturgeon were fished in Lake of the Woods for their eggs which make genuine caviar. They were reportedly piled along the shorelines like huge stacks of cordwood in many places.
The intensive fishing, and the lengthy growing period before they reproduce, has apparently seriously reduced the population of sturgeon in the lake. Perhaps they are now on the way back … but even so, it will probably be a long time before Emmett is unthroned! Long live the King!
The next summer another follow-up article appeared.
Emmett Dahlquist is waiting for hook and line, open water fishing season. He’s got a lot of hooks to try out. Because he used a Kahle hook to catch the big sturgeon last winter, he got $10 and a package each of 15 different size Kahle hooks from that company.
The company wrote him, “We have received many interesting letters and photos of some unusual catches but yours, by far, I must say, is the most interesting because of the obstacles you had to overcome.
“I read and reread that write-up in the Roseau Times-Region as it was very interesting reading.
“We are sure the ordeal you experienced in trying to land this monster will never be forgotten. It is something every fisherman hopes to experience but never does.
“Since you are not satisfied with being an ordinary fisherman, we are also sending you a couple of ‘sea going’ hooks in case you ever again decide to attempt suicide by battling one of these creatures.”
Emmett has had the big fish mounted and hung it in the curling rink for some time this winter.
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for letting us share our county’s history with your listeners by donating air time, studio time, and production staff every week.