Ringing in the Fish

This week we bring readers the tale of two fish, and two

rings.

Truth, Lies and Sailfish

On December 28, 2002, Eric Bartos was fishing with two friends off

the Florida coast near Ft. Lauderdale when he caught and landed a

sailfish. Bartos was in the middle of a bitter divorce at the

time–so his fishing buddies suggested he place his gold wedding

band over the bill of the fish before he released it, in an act of

strength and camaraderie.

One pal, Jamie Artzt, snapped a quick photo before they released

the fish.

As fate would have it, the same three anglers were together two

years later, competing in a sailfish tournament, when Bartos landed

a sailfish with his gold band firmly attached to its bill–exactly

where he placed it 25 months previous.

This time, more photographs were taken, and Bartos removed the

ring, which left an indelible mark on his re-caught fish before it

was released–hopefully, to be caught another time.

As the story of Bartos’ ring fish began circulating among the big

game angling community of South Florida, many who heard about it

naturally doubted the odds of such an incredible coincidence. As a

result, a local radio station offered to pay for a

professionally-administered polygraph test, and Bartos willingly

submitted.

The result? Bartos’ story is “overwhelmingly truthful,” according

to polygraph examiner Doug Reno, who announced the results live on

NBC’s Today Show.

Bartos, the director of preconstruction services for a Florida

condominium builder, is well known in the competitive big game

angling community. He said the ring is now displayed among his

other fishing trophies–though he’s considering donating it to the

International Game Fish Association museum in Dania Beach,

Florida.

One person who never doubted Bartos’ story was his ex-wife,

Susan.

“I believed it from the start,” she told reporters. ” Maybe this is

a sign of us…to make peace.”

Catfish Has a Ring to It

On a recent Sunday in May, Wayne Nickerson landed several catfish

from a small pond near Augusta, Kentucky and placed them in his

boat’s livewell. When he removed the fish later that day he

discovered a shiny ring from a Columbus, Ohio area high

school–located some 150 miles from the pond–with the inscribed

name: Lisa Marie Certain.

When Augusta Police Chief Greg Cummings was notified of Nickerson’s

peculiar catch, he visited the Franklin Heights High School 1984

alumni Web site, where Ms. Certain was listed as “missing in

action.” The chief’s first thought was that perhaps a crime might

have been committed involving the mystery woman.

A news story aired by TV stations in Cincinnati and Columbus

subsequently led to the ring owner, now Lisa Peterson, who resides

in Idaho Falls, Idaho. When contacted by Chief Cummings, Peterson

said the ring was stolen from her mother’s central Ohio home 15

years ago.

Today, thanks to a sharp-eyed catfisherman and good police work,

she has been reunited with her missing bauble.