World-record-size muskie is a shocking catch—literally
Mille Lacs Lake, a world-class fishery in Minnesota, is suspected by many to be home to a world-record muskie, and now we know it to be true.
Speculation about a world record was put to rest by biologists who were electroshocking the lake in search of walleye recently and wound up with a world-record-size muskie that measured 61 1/2 inches, the Mille Lacs Band Department of Natural Resources announced Friday on Facebook.
The current all-tackle world-record muskie measured 60 1/4 inches and weighed 67 pounds, 8 ounces, a fish caught by Cal Johnson in 1949 at Lake Court Oreilles near Hayward, Wisc. Minnesota’s state record measured 56 7/8 inches.
“We were not looking for muskie,” DNR Aquaculture biologist Keith Wiggins-Kegg said. “That wasn’t our objective.”
But when the huge muskie floated to the surface, the biologists noticed it was huge. So the muskie was netted and a quick measurement taken, along with a couple of photos, before it was released back into the lake. The team watched it swim away safely, DNR reported.
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“We didn’t have a large enough scale on board to weigh that big of a fish,” said Carl Klimah, Mille Lacs Band DNR fisheries manager. “A fish like this can weigh between 55-75 pounds, but we will never know for sure. We can say that it was a huge fish and hope that someone catches it again so we know.”
Electroshocking is performed to survey fish populations. Wires emitting a non-lethal electric current are dropped into the water and the charge momentarily stuns the fish. When the fish float to the surface, the biologists net them and take measurements before releasing them back into the water.
“That muskie could possibly be the world-record muskie that people have been speculating about for years,” the DNR added in its post.
Photos courtesy of Mille Lacs Band Department of Natural Resources.