Possibly 50lb Muskie Inhales Bait at the Boat
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Published 2019-11-07
This beast may appear to be extremely resilient, but the reality is that a fish of this size/age is incredibly fragile. I decided to show the unedited unhook and photo process to help educate interested muskie anglers on being prepared to handle a muskie of any size.
A large, pen style net is essential for allowing the fish to rest under water, after the fight. The Frabill Big Kahuna is ideal for this.
There will be many times where a long, needle nose pliers can remove treble hooks, but in this case, the fish had a very large, 7/0 treble, piercing multiple gill arches. For this, it is ESSENTIAL that any muskie hunter carries a bolt cutter in the boat. Knipex is the best and can cut any hook. When in doubt, cut it. Hooks cost $1/irreplaceable memory.
When the fish is fully unhooked and it is laying in the net, head under water, take your time coming up with a plan to get a measurement and photos in UNDER 1 Minute. Get the camera queued up and discuss angles and photos beforehand. If you decide to measure on a bumpboard, wet it first.
Try to keep the fish horizontal at all times and always squeeze hard with your gill hold. Their organs struggle when they are removed from the atmospheric pressure they normally experience, below water.
With practice/communication, this all becomes second nature. You will notice in the video that without a word, we are both prepared to get good photos and measurement of the fish. This is a result of practice and discussion, before the fish comes out of the water.
It's extremely easy to get excited about a muskie of any size and being well prepared ensures the fish's health, as well as a properly preserved memory for the angler.
Disclaimer: I did not weigh this fish, but modern calculations put it right around 50lbs. Relax.
All Comments (21)
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This is how I feel when I catch a 3 pounder
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Fishermen watching this be like "no way that is 50 lb!!!1! Looks more like 47.55 lb to me"
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Big props on how gently you treated the fish and how quickly you worked to get her freed and back in the water. This is the example that needs to be set.
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That’s awesome. Yesterday I caught a bluegill.
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What I love about Muskie Fishing is the teamwork, the zero jealousy wishing you caught it and not your buddy, when it follows the first guy in and it keeps swimming his buddy points at it making sure that his other buddy keeps his bait moving to catch it, then immediately grabs the net, fuckin awesome work
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I enjoy catching fish the size of the bait used to catch the muskie.
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Muskies always look like they’re really pissed about something. But then, every one I’ve seen has a hook in him, which would probably make me a little cranky, too.
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Funny how when somebody tries to lift a monster out of the net they look like the father of a newborn trying to figure out how to hold the kid.
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I grew up on Mille Lacs in the summer. Awesome sportsman in how they handled this monster and then freed him! Thanks Tom.
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Spot on from beginning to end. Net was as ready as the guy who ran it. Hook cutters ready to go, cameras running. Great photos in a very timely manner. Handling the big ones "perfectly" is impossible but this was as good as it gets. Awesome fish!
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That was awesome that you showed the removal of the hooks and how it was done in a way that didn't cause undue stress to the fish. Most muskie anglers on YouTube cut that part of the video and only show the catch and rarely the release.
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Great respect and care for the fish, earned my like
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The lure was the average size of my catches.
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That video was awe-inspiring, not just because of the catch, but the respect shown for the health of the fish.
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Took excellent care of that sow all the way thru. Much respect
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Good lord. We have nordic pike in Finland. They grow up pretty big sometimes, but whenever I see musky videos they kind of freak me out. What absolute monsterfish :D
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What a monster Muskie, great coverage of the near boat strike and well done on handling-releasing the giant... including the write up in the description... Congrats!
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I went walleye trolling at Lake Erie once and hooked into a HUGE Muskie, but we didn’t have a big enough net to land him, and he got away. That fish still haunts me.
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This is a good example why it's hard to muskie fish by yourself. Imagine catching something like this alone, with a small boat in he middle of nowhere. Great job handling the fish and releasing it, nice video.
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Great job with the fish handling you guys, it’s nice to see when people have urgency to cut hooks and keep the fish wet.
