Photo Credit - Arthur Weasley
FACT OR FICTION? -- Is there really a "monster" lurking deep in the waters of Bartlett Lake? Is Bartlby really there? This reproduction of Nichollssaura borealis, a plesiosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada, is the closest we could find to the description offered recently by a Bartlett bass angler. A fish tale or ?

BARTLETT LAKE, Ariz. — A crappie fisherman spotted something while on the lake early last Thursday morning, something that made him wonder what was in his morning orange juice. Being a teetotaler, he just rubbed his eyes and stared in disbelief.

Back in the far reaches of the lake toward Horseshoe he saw what he first thought was one of the rumored giant catfish that are said to reside in the lake. He had heard that they were usually by the dam.

This “thing” was swimming near the top of the water and occasionally the back would appear above the water. As he kept watching, the “fish” began to get higher out of the water to the point that he could somewhat judge its size.

The more he watched, the bigger the thing appeared until at last he judged it to be at least three times the length of his 22-foot boat. At this point it was getting closer and its head appeared. Definitely not a catfish he thought, but what? The head was oblong and in proportion to the giant body and there were teeth much like canine teeth protruding.

Common sense began to overtake his curiosity and he started to back slowly away. It wasn’t much longer before the thing disappeared altogether.

When he returned to the dock, fishing didn’t seem like such a good idea any more. He awkwardly told friends what he had seen. He didn’t have pictures and decided to let it go for then and return when he got his nerve back up to see if he could spot the monster (?) again.

If anyone else has seen something similar on Bartlett Lake please contact us. Pictures would be great. Is this a fish tale, or ?