DeWitt's Jason Dittman and his 11-year-old daughter Josie were kayaking in the middle of Jamesville Reservoir on Father's Day when they spotted something swimming with its eyes above the surface of the water.

Dittman, an avid Central New York fisherman, said he thought it was the largest fish he'd ever seen. Some folks commenting in the message boards of the story in Syracuse.com thought it might be a beaver or otter or some other large mammal. His daughter was so shaken up by the sight, she didn't want to go swimming any more.

The young father had to reassure her that fish like that do not normally bother people.

According to Dittman's estimation, it was probably a tiger muskie, which is a toothy hybrid of a muskellunge and a northern pike. Anglers say tiger muskies often swim around on the surface, seeking rats, mice, frogs, ducks, muskrats--pretty much anything to eat.

The New York State freshwater record for a tiger muskie is 35 pounds and over 50 inches long, which would match Dittman's description of the one he and his daughter spotted.

Have you ever been scared by something in the water?

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