Man's 'One That Got Away' Story Now Involves a Fish the Size of a Kayak, Up From Last Year's Canoe

Local angler Pete Sinker's account of a largemouth bass he lost on Lake Champlain in 2019 has undergone its sixth annual revision, with the fish now described as 'roughly the size of a touring kayak,' an increase of approximately 18 inches from last year's telling, in which it was 'about as long as a canoe.' Sinker's fishing companions, who have been quietly documenting the fish's growth across retellings, presented their findings at a lakeside cookout Saturday. 'In 2019, the night it happened, he said it was maybe 24 inches,' said longtime fishing partner Don Bobber. 'By 2020 it was a solid 30. In 2022 he started comparing it to watercraft. Last year it was a canoe. This year it's a kayak, which is smaller than a canoe, so there's actually a regression there, but the weight estimate went up to 40 pounds, so the overall trajectory is still inflationary.' Sinker denies any embellishment. 'Fish look different in the water,' he said. 'Refraction makes them look smaller. What I saw was the true size. What everyone else remembers is the refracted size. I'm the only one telling the unrefracted truth.' The companion data set, which Bobber has maintained in a spreadsheet titled 'Pete's Fish Growth Chart,' also tracks supplementary claims that have been added to the narrative over time. These include the assertion that the fish 'looked at him,' that the rod 'bent in a way it's never bent before or since,' and, as of this year, that the fish 'knew his name.' Sinker has been invited to tell the story at next year's cookout, where Bobber plans to project the spreadsheet on a screen behind him in real time.