Liidlii Kue/Fort Simpson - Herb Norwegian has one of those fish stories, the kind that people tend to dismiss as a tall tale because it involves such a large catch.

Luckily for Norwegian, he has the pictures of his recent catch to back-up his story. The fish in question is an inconnu or a "connie," the largest that Norwegian, a lifelong angler, said he's ever seen.

Herb Norwegian holds the inconnu that he caught in a net at Gros Cap outside of Fort Simpson. - photo courtesy of Leanne Ocko

The story of Norwegian and the connie starts out on the evening of Sept. 11. Norwegian, along with his brother Bob Norwegian, headed out to check the net that he'd set on the weekend near Gros Cap.

Earlier visits to the net had already yielded a collection of suckers, pickerel and losh that Norwegian distributed around Fort Simpson. This visit, however, proved to be different.

The two men were pulling in the net when it started to run straight up and down in the water instead of floating near the top. Norwegian said he thought they'd snagged the net on a log or a rock.

"Then this monster of a mouth came out," he said remembering the event.

At first Norwegian thought they'd caught a sturgeon and yelled at Bob to help him.

It took both men, with Herb grabbing the head and Bob taking the tail, to get the fish into the boat. During the process the skiff tilted dangerously to one side.

"The boat almost capsized because the fish was so big," said Norwegian.

Once the fish was safely in the boat, the two men sat back to admire their catch. In the bottom of the boat with its tail still moving was a connie that the men guess weighed between 35-40 pounds and measured about 46 inches long.

Bob Norwegian said it's the largest connie he's seen in his lifetime around this area.

Along with a feeling of amazement, Herb Norwegian said he's grateful to have caught the fish.

"It's a gift that you can get something like that," said Norwegian.

The catch was a reason to celebrate.

"We were just hollering," he said.

By giving up its life the fish made a lot of people happy, said Norwegian.

When he returned to the village Norwegian showed the fish off to a few friends before taking it home to clean. Straight fat came out of the connie when it was cut open.

Norwegian roasted the innards of the fish over hot coals right away to eat. The main part of the fish was split down the backbone and hung traditionally over a smoky fire for about an hour.

A quarter of the fish was given to participants at a Bompas elementary school culture camp that Norwegian's son Roderique was participating in. Everyone at the camp wanted a taste, said Norwegian.

"All the elders there were almost getting into a knuckle fight over it, it was so delicious," he said.

Some of the fish also went to elder Felix Tale at long term care.

"He just inhaled the whole thing," said Norwegian.

He said he was saving the rest of the fish for the right moment.

Talking with some elders, Norwegian said a fish this size used to be caught every once in awhile and was considered a lucky event.

"In Dene terms it's the equivalent of winning a lottery," said Norwegian.