Does lake Utopia have a family of giant eels or is it a lake monster?

The Indigenous people’s legends speak of a serpent with a huge mouth and teeth that inhabits Lake Utopia in New Brunswick, Canada. The serpent is said to break holes through the surface of the frozen lake and snap at people on the lake. There have been sightings reported for about the last 100 years. The lake level varies throughout the year, as more or less water is allowed through a hydroelectric dam on the Maguadavic River in St. George. This may have some effect on whatever creatures live there.

In 1867 sawmill workers on the north shore of the lake reported they saw something 30 feet (nine metres) long and 10 feet (three metres) wide thrashing in the lake.

In 1868 a Saint Croix Courier ( a newspaper) reporter said he and other witnesses saw the monster.

In 1872 a Dominion Gazette article on the monster said "dwellers of the lake, without exception, believe that a huge fish or serpent has a home in Utopia" and they've seen it basking like a pine log on the surface of the water.

In1872 locals describe a monster with a large head following their canoes, snapping its jaws. The Canadian Illustrated News reported a hunting party set out to catch the monster without success.

In 1891 William Francis Ganong, a naturalist, records in his notebook a description of the monster provided by a lumberman who said he saw it 20 years prior. "It was dark red in colour, the part showing above the water was 20 feet long ( 6.6 metres) and as big around as a small hogshead; it was much like a large eel."

In 1969 The Saint John Evening Times Globe reported on an interview with Mrs. Fred McKillop, of St. George, who said she saw a huge creature 18 years earlier. "It looked like a huge black rock . . . It moved up and down the lake, boiling and churning the water, making great waves,"

In 1982 Sherman Hatt says he and family members saw a hump come out of the water about 10 feet (3 metres)long. He said it looked like a submarine with spray coming from both sides.

In 1996 There were reports about Roger and Lois Wilcox who were canoeing on the lake when they saw ripples break the mirror-like surface 100 metres ( 300 feet) from them. It was heading toward Cannonball Island . Wilcox, a retired military airman from St. George area described it as 40 to 50 feet (13 to 16 metres) long, undulating upward, not sideways and he saw a hump  five feet ( 1.6 metres)out of the water. He said, "I just don't know what it was."

The leading Lake Utopia Monster researcher Norma Stewart said most sightings are kept quiet, one was reported to her in 2000. Stewart believes there is a pattern of sightings at about every three to five year intervals.

So is this another giant eel sighting? The descriptions sound very familiar. There could be a family of large eels living in the lake that surface either when food is scare or maybe when they are breeding and are protecting their territory, hence the aggression. Perhaps they come through to breed when more water is put into the lake? Of course that is only one explanation and I am sure everyone has their own.If anyone knows of any more recent sightings please post.