An incredible discovery in Lake Champlain

[Still Waters]

Dennis Hall spends much of his time monitoring Lake Champlain.

"Normally there's no noise. It was different. Different. And so clear," said Hall.

The Panton man is looking for a legend. He made headlines in 1985 when he claimed to spot the lake creature, known as Champ.

"Something made the noises and it's totally amazing," said Hall.

http://www.wcax.com/...-lake-champlain

[Four Winds]

I think the explanation in the article that the clicking sound that was heard was probably sturgeon is the most likely one. Sturgeon are known to make a noise like a "creaky door hinge" when they spawn. http://www.usm.edu/gcrl/public/fish/gulf.sturgeon.php

I could not find anywhere in the article that mentioned when the sound was recorded other than recently. My guess is that it was recorded during the last time the sturgeon spawned.

The Beluga whale is an unlikely explanation. They have to surface for oxygen unlike sturgeon so they would likely be seen by someone. Not to mention they are saltwater creatures and would have a difficult time making it into lake Champlain. There are fresh water dolphins but still, sturgeon looks to be the best fit.

[+DieChecker]

I'm skeptical that it is a beluga whale. Having a recording of a whale and providing proof that it was made where you said it was made are two different things.

[maximusnow]

Perhaps the monster communicates the same as whales? It would possibly be echo locating food or mating calls.

[Atuke]

Perhaps the monster communicates the same as whales? It would possibly be echo locating food or mating calls.

Yes indeed I'm with you sir on this one.

[paperdyer]

Yes indeed I'm with you sir on this one.

I'm always fascinated that there is only ever one of these creatures sighted. Unless the creature is immortal, you need more than one.

Wait - These are the "Highlander" branch of monsters. There can be only one!

[Rafterman]

After reading that, I'm fairly convinced that Dennis Hall is a moron.

[Karasu]

I think the explanation in the article that the clicking sound that was heard was probably sturgeon is the most likely one. Sturgeon are known to make a noise like a "creaky door hinge" when they spawn. http://www.usm.edu/gcrl/public/fish/gulf.sturgeon.php

I could not find anywhere in the article that mentioned when the sound was recorded other than recently. My guess is that it was recorded during the last time the sturgeon spawned.

The Beluga whale is an unlikely explanation. They have to surface for oxygen unlike sturgeon so they would likely be seen by someone. Not to mention they are saltwater creatures and would have a difficult time making it into lake Champlain. There are fresh water dolphins but still, sturgeon looks to be the best fit.

Agreed. Aquatic creatures do not simply turn from saltwater to freshwater at the drop of a hat.

[Sundew]

I tend to discount any lake monsters that are supposedly mammalian or reptilian; anything that breathes air must come to the surface constantly, plus most people claim these are large creatures. In a lake that would be hard to hide, with the many ships, and the many homes around the shore.

[GrimmOne]

Agreed. Aquatic creatures do not simply turn from saltwater to freshwater at the drop of a hat.

True except bull sharks can, but then again bull sharks don't make noise

[Travelling Man]

The fact that there are THOUSANDS of smallcraft on Champlain every day during the summer months and nobody has seen anything; combined with the fact that Champlain freezes over EVERY winter for MONTHS at a time... this takes his findings and both casts doubt on them and then blows them out of the water.

[Karasu]

True except bull sharks can, but then again bull sharks don't make noise

Yes, but they are born being able to survive in both; they didn't just evolve all willy-nilly.

[Bavarian Raven]

It wouldn't be impossible for one or two to periodically go up river. I'm still of the opinion that it, like the Ogopogo are simply very large sturgeon. Anyone who has seen a massive sturgeon would understand, they can be monster like and up to 20 feet in length. Just saying.

[+Hammerclaw]

The bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas), can thrive in salt and freshwater and has been spotted in the mississippi as far north as Illinois. Honest-to God River Monsters! http://youtu.be/wTMw9h1GyzU

Edited November 7, 2014 by Hammerclaw

[Ashyne]

lol this lake has same width but 4 times the length (coast to coast) of my country!

[qxcontinuum]

Ok , no whales but what makes the sound then?

[Aitrui]

Ratchet and drag on a fishing reel makes that noise, more eeeeeeeeeek than click... click... when you have a Beluga Whale on the line though....

[qxcontinuum]

Agreed. Aquatic creatures do not simply turn from saltwater to freshwater at the drop of a hat.

Many aquatic mammels actually do. in Canada whales and dolphins are often seen in the St. laurence river, some have even made their way to Ontario's lake . belugas are well adapted to artic enviroment but they will need to breed oxygen at surface so often that everyone must have been seeing them.

I 've personaly meet someone that saw something in the lake champlain. One night he has heard a very powerful water splash , according to the description it was like a few tons truck will be smashed in the water. In the same time there was a sort of agony noise unlike everything he has heard. The noise was quickly stranded by water. He went out the cabin to see what happened but couldn't find anything but burds flying blind in the night time , awake by this noise and splash

Edited November 7, 2014 by qxcontinuum

[stereologist]

The fact that there are THOUSANDS of smallcraft on Champlain every day during the summer months and nobody has seen anything; combined with the fact that Champlain freezes over EVERY winter for MONTHS at a time... this takes his findings and both casts doubt on them and then blows them out of the water.

Actually, Lake Champlain used to freeze over every winter. It has only frozen over a few times in the last 30 years. Before then it froze over every year. I do agree that the freezing over of the Lake prevents air dependent animals from surviving.

My understanding is that most Champ sightings are at Bulwagga Bay on the New York side. It is a shallow bay unable to allow a large creature to swim around as people claim to have observed. I do not know if sightings are in any way connected to the bar at that location.

The article did mention that a whale skeleton was discovered. They did not mention that seal fossils were found in Vermont as well. These are all left over when the area was beginning to rebound after the glaciers were gone. The land continues to rise. Lake Champlain has a mean sea level of something like 95 feet. The whale skeleton has no bearing on current conditions. The Richelieu river that is mentioned is the outlet for the lake. It has been flowing slower due to the rebound of land to the north. I've seen belugas in a fjord off of the Saint Lawrence called the Saguenay. Interesting to learn that they can go up the Saint Lawrence to the Richelieu River outlet. That puts them past the tide water zone and into freshwater - at least temporarily.

The good thing about these Champ folks is that they have found a number of Revolutionary War wrecks.

[Rafterman]

http://www.whalefacts.org/can-whales-live-in-fresh-water/

Whales and other ocean mammals can survive for brief periods of time in freshwater. The primary issue, however, is food supply since they have evolved to live on saltwater species. Also saltwater aids tremendously in buoyancy.

[ancient astronaut]

"I was listening with the hydrophone and all of the sudden I started hearing bulls#*t".

Edited November 7, 2014 by ancient astronaut

[Kashora]

I'm wondering if it's possible that something did evolve to hold its breath longer than we currently know about. I think it's highly unlikely that it would be a freshwater creature, but one that can be fresh and marine. It seems that there would be a lot of evolutionary pluses if it could do that. I think too deep into this so my mind just went to maybe it developed a symbiotic relationship with a microbe to help it stay under longer. I

live on a massive lake (Winnebago) and whenever someone spots a curious something, it turns out to be a sturgeon. The lake is considered to be the second biggest in the US (after the Great Lakes) and it's rumored that we have sharks but it's never been proven.

[Mr.United_Nations]

Many aquatic mammels actually do. in Canada whales and dolphins are often seen in the St. laurence river, some have even made their way to Ontario's lake . belugas are well adapted to artic enviroment but they will need to breed oxygen at surface so often that everyone must have been seeing them.

I 've personaly meet someone that saw something in the lake champlain. One night he has heard a very powerful water splash , according to the description it was like a few tons truck will be smashed in the water. In the same time there was a sort of agony noise unlike everything he has heard. The noise was quickly stranded by water. He went out the cabin to see what happened but couldn't find anything but burds flying blind in the night time , awake by this noise and splash

anything can make a loud splash, the question is where it was amplified by natural conditions

[Mr.United_Nations]

Ok , no whales but what makes the sound then?

a sturgeon as some people have said

[Aitrui]

When a fishing lure drags along the floor of a lake (or any body of water shallow enough) it will inevitably create friction or snag on something. That creates a tension on the fishing line which briefly behaves much like a guitar string. This imparts sounds from the boat into the line and as we all know sound tends to travel a long way underwater. The reel on a fishing rod has a ratchet which makes a clicking sound when there is a certain amount of tension on the line and if the person holding the rod thinks there is a fish on (which they often do if they hear click...click click..eeekeeek) they will pull on the rod and the reel will send even more eeekeek sounds down the line. I have heard the so-called whale recordings they are talking about and they confirmed what I had already suspected from their descriptions. Ironically while they were interviewing the researchers on their boat I saw fishing boats only a few hundred yards away from them. The real mystery is whether they really are that stupid!