Taken September 2010.

Fred Acomb Catches 13 Pound Brook Trout, 1906, Genesee Country Express, Thursday, 28 April 1977. A BIG ONE - More than a century ago, Thomas Acomb built a dam across Stony Brook to form a pool where he could wash sheep. Farmers brought their flocks from as far away as Canaseraga and willingly paid Mr. Acomb five cents a head. He did a thriving business until sheep raisers found no difference in the price of wool, clean or dirty. Thereafter it was quiet along the brook and the cool, clear, water at the sheep dam was undisturbed. At some point in time a brook trout took up quarters there, a smart finny denizen who had a favorite spot beneath some rock ledges. Meanwhile the Acomb farm had passed to Thomas' son, Fred, who, with his sons, often fished along the stream. Several times they had a hook in the sheep dam trout but the wily old cuss ducked under the ledge and the line soon parted on the rough stone edge. Doomsday for the trout began when Fred's son, Ed, caught a likely grasshopper which had the looks of good fish bait. His father decided to give it a try at the sheep dam pool although he was not as enthusiastic about prospects as was son Ed. The struggling grasshopper lured the big brook trout from his lair-he struck hard and was hooked. Right away the fish started for the den beneath the stone ledge but Fred Acomb was ready for that and kept him clear. After a struggle the sheep dam lunker was high and dry on the bank. Many fish stories, of questionable veracity, are passed around but the picture is here today to prove this one is true. Hanging from the support is the 13 pound brook trout that lived in the sheep dam pool until Fred Acomb outwitted him in 1906. Standing in the rear is Ed Acomb who caught the grasshopper and convinced his father it was a winner. (Wilfred J. Rauber, North Dansville Town Historian.)

ðI1906 ⌼South Dansville, NY