eelpout festival

Authorities say a 21-year-old man whose body was found in a fish house during the eelpout festival in northern Minnesota last month died of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.

A northern Minnesota festival to celebrate an ugly bottom-feeding fish enters its 39th year Thursday. The International Eelpout Festival in Walker is held on Leech Lake and was started as a way to draw tourists to town in the wintertime.

One of the biggest winter celebrations in Minnesota hits the ice this weekend near Walker. The 36th annual "Eelpout Festival" runs today (Thursday) through Saturday on Leech Lake. Organizer Jared Olson describes the festival as "a big fishing tournament with a Mardi-Gras style party".