Tall Tales of Fish That Got Away: Loch Ness

Perhaps the most famous tall tale about fish that got away concerns the Loch Ness monster, or Nessie.

Many people's stories of Nessie actually don't consider Nessie to be a fish, but some kind of strange species of water reptile. Whatever Nessie is, she's certainly one of the most interesting stories of modern times.

In Scotland, a Loch is a lake. The etymology of the word likely has some relation to the the English lake, the french lac, and the Spanish lago, suggesting that the term probably has latin origins. Thus the Loch Ness monster is the monster that resides in a particular body of water, namely Loch Ness.


By the pictures shown here (courtesy of some anthropologists and Nessie enthusiasts), it should be apparent that Nessie is quite a large beast. For this reason, many Nessie fans suggest she's a dinosaur that's somehow still alive. Others counter that sightings have established an eel-like shape, and so she is something more akin to a water-snake.

At any rate, if someone were to find Nessie (not catch her) with irrefutable photographic proof, I would certainly call them the King of Anglers. Until then, the Loch Ness monster remains a great story.