A 14-year-old Minnesota boy was out fishing for walleye on the state’s Lake of the Woods when he dredged up something else — a wallet containing $2,000 in wet, mossy cash.

After Connor Halsa and a cousin hooked and reeled in what they thought was a fish, they instead found a billfold full of greenbacks.

“My cousin opened the wallet up, and he said some words you probably shouldn’t say … and then we took the money out and placed it all on the dashboard to let it dry off,” he told WDAY-TV Monday.

The teen and his father agreed that the wallet should be returned to its rightful owner; a business card stuck inside the wallet helped them return the money.

Iowa farmer Jim Denney had lost the wallet and its contents while fishing out on Lake of the Woods in 2022.

“I tell you what — I’ve got the billfold in my hands and it’s still hard to believe. … The odds of ever finding or hooking a billfold in 20 feet of water — I don’t think there’s a number” Mr. Denney told WDAY-TV.

Lake of the Woods covers about 1 million acres, about 70 miles in width and length. 

Mr. Denney traveled to Minnesota to pick up the money, and gave the boy and his family a customized cooler when they refused a monetary reward for the lucky find.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.