Hardy souls participating in the annual polar plunge event, International Eelpout Festival, ca. 2010s. Photo by Josh Stokes.

Polar plunge at the International Eelpout Festival

Hardy souls participating in the annual polar plunge event, International Eelpout Festival, ca. 2010s. Photo by Josh Stokes.

International Eelpout Festival-goers riding in style, ca. 2010s. Photo by Josh Stokes.

International Eelpout Festival attendees

International Eelpout Festival-goers riding in style, ca. 2010s. Photo by Josh Stokes.

International Eelpouters get a lift, ca. 2010s. Photo by Josh Stokes.

Participants in the International Eelpout Festival

International Eelpouters get a lift, ca. 2010s. Photo by Josh Stokes.

Deep-fried eelpout at the International Eelpout Festival, ca. 2010s. Photo by Josh Stokes

Deep-fried eelpout

Deep-fried eelpout at the International Eelpout Festival, ca. 2010s. Photo by Josh Stokes

Kissing an eelpout for luck at the International Eelpout Festival, Walker, 2013. Photo by Josh Stokes.

Kissing an eelpout for luck at the International Eelpout Festival

Kissing an eelpout for luck at the International Eelpout Festival, Walker, 2013. Photo by Josh Stokes.

Thousands of visitors gather on Leech Lake in Walker, Minnesota for the International Eelpout Festival, ca. 2010s. Photo by Josh Stokes. © Chase on the Lake Resort, used with permission.

Leech Lake during the International Eelpout Festival

Thousands of visitors gather on Leech Lake in Walker, Minnesota for the International Eelpout Festival, ca. 2010s. Photo by Josh Stokes.

Ken Bresley (holding the eelpout) and Don Overcash, the founders of the International Eelpout Festival, promoting the first festival, 1980. Photo by Don Smith, Walker Pilot-Independent. Used with permission.

Ken Bresley and Don Overcash

Ken Bresley (holding the eelpout) and Don Overcash, the founders of the International Eelpout Festival, promoting the first festival, 1980. Photo by Don Smith, Walker Pilot-Independent. Used with permission.

Don Overcash (left) and Ken Bresley (right) promoting the first International Eelpout Festival on a Duluth television sports show, 1980. Photo by Don Smith, Walker Pilot-Independent. Used with permission.

Don Overcash and Ken Bresley

Don Overcash (left) and Ken Bresley (right) promoting the first International Eelpout Festival on a Duluth television sports show, 1980. Photo by Don Smith, Walker Pilot-Independent. Used with permission.

Embroidered patch created for the first International Eelpout Festival, 1980. From the private collection of Don Overcash, used with permission.

International Eelpout Festival patch

Embroidered patch created for the first International Eelpout Festival, 1980. From the private collection of Don Overcash, used with permission.

Buttons issued the first year of the International Eelpout Festival, 1980. The buttons were numbered, but four buttons featured the number “1” for Don and Debbie Overcash, Ken Bresley, and Barbara Robers. From the private collection of Don Overcash, used with permission.

International Eelpout Festival buttons

Buttons issued the first year of the International Eelpout Festival, 1980. The buttons were numbered, but four buttons featured the number “1” for Don and Debbie Overcash, Ken Bresley, and Barbara Robers. From the private collection of Don Overcash, used with permission.

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