Fur-Bearing Trout

"'Feejee Mermaid' has become the generic term for the many fake mermaids that can be found around the world..." This article contains information relating to a hoax. According to Cambridge dictionary a hoax is "a ​plan to ​deceive a ​large ​group of ​people; a ​trick."

Fur-Bearing Trout (also known as Beaver Trout) possess thick coats of fur or hair  that help to keep them warm in the cold northern waters where they live.

Sightings

According to legend, the fur-bearing trout was first encountered by Europeans when Scottish settlers emigrated to Canada during the seventeenth century. One settler wrote home remarking about the abundance of "furried animals and fish" in the new land. Asked to provide more information about the furried fish, he duly sent home a specimen. Fur-Bearing trouts mounted as trophies can be found hanging on walls throughout the Great Lakes region of North America.

Explanations

The legend probably started by people seeing trouts infected with saprolegnia, which makes the fish seem to have tufts of fur. It is also possible that a taxidermist put fur on a trout and showed it around and convinced some people.

Hoax

Beaver Trouts mounted on walls are all considered hoaxes.

Gallery

A trout covered in Saprolegnia. A possible explanation.

Fur bearing trout