Another strange creature sighted at Millerton Lake
Something strange lurks underneath the waters of Millerton Lake.
Earlier this week I received a phone call on the Weird Fresno hotline (yes I have a hotline) from a local resident who said he and his family witnessed something strange on their outing to Millerton Lake on Sunday. What's even more interesting is that a ranger that was on patrol there, saw the same thing. The person then found this website by doing a Google search for any strange Millerton sightings. Below is a transcript of the phone call.
I found your website while trying to figure out what I saw at Millerton Lake on this past Sunday. I'm not sure what it was in the lake, it was huge and it was making waves and there was nobody else out there.
I was on the dam with my family. It was bizare because after you saw these waves and something out there, some kind of mass, a ranger boat came up to where this was going on and was looking for whatever was causing it. And I'm pretty sure it saw what it was, because it was circling it.
So I'm not sure what it was, could have been a giant catfish or some giant fish. But it was very large. I would say maybe, from my distance it was about 200 yards away, I would say maybe about fifteen, maybe twenty feet long and the width of it was maybe about ten feet. It was rather large and that's the reason why probably the ranger saw it from afar, because you could see it from afar it was that big.
It was making lots of waves and then it dissapeared once the ranger showed up and the ranger hung around there for about, I would say for about fifteen minutes circling it. I heard some weird-like noises, like from the boat I don't know if he was singing or what. It was just bizare. My wife was there, she saw it as well.
The person also gave me his contact information and a follow up call is planned, but this has me wondering. I had posted several months ago about a giant catfish sighting also at Millerton Lake, but I has just assumed that it was just a "tall tale" told by someone to someone that was told to someone else, etc. and really didn't have much truth to it. But this sighting has me wondering what the hell is lurking under the waters by the dam.
I'm hoping to plan a small excursion to Millerton sometime in the near future. If so I'll post anything I find on here. That is if I'm not eaten by the damn thing.
Comments
I have buddies who told me about their own fishing experience on Millerton Lake. They were fishing one day with 20 lb strength fishing line and they caught something but it quickly broke. They then went back with a higher strength (50 lb) fishing line on a different day on Millerton Lake. The same thing happened, the line peeled out with the bite and they could not bring in the fish and the line broke. The 3rd and last try was with 100 lb test strength fishing line (braided?) and the same thing happened. They decided to quite trying after that. So there does seem to be large fish in that reservoir. Some people were joking that it was a dragon. Hahah, imagine that.
Love your site!
I once witnessed a catfish swallow a duck whole on the Arkansas river near Russelville. They can grow to be enormous, but I think these big fish are probably sturgeon. If they were put in right after the reservoirs were formed, they will have had decades to grow as the top predators in the lakes.
The reporter said they talked to a guy who was a kid when the Dam was built. He stated he helped the State catch fish that had been trapped in pools because of the receding water level for miles below the dam, they put them in 55 gallon barrels and dumped them into Millerton. He said there were lots of small sturgeon in the pools that got relocated to Millerton.....
They all were planted in Millerton....
At this point there are probably multiple fish over 1,000 lbs in Millerton...Not Catfish, Not Dragons, but Sturgeon.
I worked afternoon shift down @ Vail Lake 29 years ago. My Dad was the MGR there, and the county sent two divers out to check on the dam, since at the time they were considering making it taller. The diver who actually went to the bottom of the damn was about 6ft tall, and while down there he felt something brush against his shoulder. Thinking it was his diving partner, he turned and saw a cat fish bigger than him. He shot out of that water so fast, and refused to ever go back in the Lake. Just saying catfish can get HUGE..I was fishing one night, and caught one on my new 26# test that snapped it like it was sewing thread.
I was told that some fisher man had it swim right under their
fishing boat,, L as told that it live under rattlesnake inland.
It is a Sting-Ray like Dinosaurs
So if you are on Millerton Lake or camping at the lake keep an eye out for it..
I was told that some fisher man had it swim right under their
fishing boat,, L as told that it live under rattlesnake inland.
It is a Sting-Ray like Dinosaurs
So if you are on Millerton Lake or camping at the lake keep an eye out for it..