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If I Caught a 70-pound Muskie, I'd Look That Startled, Too
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Syndicate
The Honest Angler
in your Inbox
November 22, 2011
If I Caught a 70-pound Muskie, I'd Look That Startled, Too
by Joe Cermele
Here's the scoop per the website of the Ottawa Sun. On November 9, Jason Phillips (left) decided to run out on the St. Lawrence River for a bit of walleye fishing. Phillips was trolling a deep-diving crankbait when guess what? A 54-inch, 70-pound muskie took a swipe. If I were in his shoes, I'd have that same "I need to check my drawers" look on my face.
Back in 2009, a 65-pound muskie was released in the St. Lawrence that stands as the current catch-and-release world-record for the species. Phillips let his fish swim away, too, so now he may be the new holder of that title.
According to the article, the fish pulled Phillips' boat a quarter mile, and took thirty minutes to land. What makes this catch even more astonishing is that it was the first muskie Phillips ever caught, and he's been a life-long angler.
Despite the fact that friends informed Phillips Bass Pro Shops would have paid $10,000 for the muskie for a skin mount, he feels good about the release. From the story:
“It swam away for 20 yards, stopped for a minute and then it just bolted to the bottom,” recalled Philips in watching to see if the huge fish was alright after the long fight.
There was never any thought of keeping the trophy fish estimated between 20 and 30 years old. Philips and [fishing partner Sandra] Ellis figured the fish deserved to live to swim and fight again.
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Comments (18)
Holy hell in a hand basket! "Checking my drawers" is an understatement!!!! INCREDIBLE fish! Awesome to let him swim! Congrats!
*Now, can we cut this guy out of the picture and put me in it??! LOL Just kidding! ;)
I wish people who think sportsmen are terrible people would care about stories like this. It's not all killing and gore - we care about the animals we interact with and respect them. Great story.
I realize it is the catch of a lifetime I just hope it survives after the handling evident in the photo.
Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's need to get out of the business of buying game animals to mount. That's a great fish and needs to be kept in the gene pool.
That fish is a pig. Kudos for the catch and release. Good to hear it bolted away.
Don't beleive everything you see on the internet...
The 65 pound fish that was release in 2009 was not weight on a scale. It's weight was calculate with a formula using is mesurements.
Weight = length * length * girt /800
The fish was 58" long and had a girt of 33". It was a pig.
http://fishing.about.com/od/muskieandpike/a/muskie_fw.htm
The fish show here is indeed a great fish. But nobody will make me beleive that a 54" musky with a girt like the one I see on the picture will weight more than 70 pounds.. That's not true.
For a 54" fish to be 70 pounds +, it would have to had a 34" girt! It would have had a real obese belly...
The picture shows nothing but a bad holding technique...
This is so phony...
Record or not, that's still a damn nice fish!
Kudos for releasing it!
Hmmm, 54 inches weighing 70 pounds does seem like a stretch. I really don't care much about records though. Awesome fish for that dude and I'm sure he'll have the picture for a loooong time lol.
Check out the comments in the Ottawa story online by reputable guides. This was a dandy fish but nowhere near a record size. Anyone else wonder about the trolling story? Looks like a rowboat. Can't even see a motor or gas line. If they had weighed it on a scale, don't you think they'd take that photo instead of one of his hands in the gill plate? Ouch ...
Regardless of how heavy the fish actually is, someone please teach this guy how to hold a big fish like that properly. Get your hands OUT of its gills, and support its weight horizontally. Sheesh.
The circumference of a 34" girth works out to be 10.8" in diameter. That looks about right for a 54" fish.
According the the Ottawa Sun discussion board there's some question as to if there is actually a $10k payout from Bass Pro. It'd be good if someone could clarify that. We don't need to encourage people to kill large breeder fish like this thinking they're going to get a payout that isn't there.
I am sorry, but there is no way a 54" fish is 70 Pounds. World Record Currently is 69 Pounds + unless I googled wrong. Several fish over 60" have been caught and were not 70 pounds. Last known 60+" fish was caught out of Green Island Lodge on Lake Manitou in the 90's. Picture of it on the Mepps Catalog back then. Article about that fish on Canada Fishing Guides Home Page. I have written several articles on Muskie, and 54" is a good fish but nothing that is near a world record.
nice fish and i don't know what sportsman you people know but the ones i know are honest stand up people .to many people go straight to the negative .oh well nice job buddy hope you kiss her
A TRUE SPORTSMAN!!! GREAT FISH CONGRATS!
OK I gotta ask: "WHAT WAS THE CRANK BAIT HE CAUGHT HIM ON???" At night? Correctly me if I am wrong, but Muskie is a daylight/dawn predator. Right?
Bass Pro would pay 10,000 dollars? I don't think so. It's illegal to sell game animals, and Bass Pro doesn't do that. How do I know? I work for Bass Pro. What actually happens is we receive a live fish as a donation and put it in a quarantined tank. If it survives, we make a replica mount, send the mount to the fisherman, and put the fish in one of our aquariums.
Awesome fish, regardless of actual weight!
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I wish people who think sportsmen are terrible people would care about stories like this. It's not all killing and gore - we care about the animals we interact with and respect them. Great story.
Check out the comments in the Ottawa story online by reputable guides. This was a dandy fish but nowhere near a record size. Anyone else wonder about the trolling story? Looks like a rowboat. Can't even see a motor or gas line. If they had weighed it on a scale, don't you think they'd take that photo instead of one of his hands in the gill plate? Ouch ...
Regardless of how heavy the fish actually is, someone please teach this guy how to hold a big fish like that properly. Get your hands OUT of its gills, and support its weight horizontally. Sheesh.
According the the Ottawa Sun discussion board there's some question as to if there is actually a $10k payout from Bass Pro. It'd be good if someone could clarify that. We don't need to encourage people to kill large breeder fish like this thinking they're going to get a payout that isn't there.
A TRUE SPORTSMAN!!! GREAT FISH CONGRATS!
Bass Pro would pay 10,000 dollars? I don't think so. It's illegal to sell game animals, and Bass Pro doesn't do that. How do I know? I work for Bass Pro. What actually happens is we receive a live fish as a donation and put it in a quarantined tank. If it survives, we make a replica mount, send the mount to the fisherman, and put the fish in one of our aquariums.
Holy hell in a hand basket! "Checking my drawers" is an understatement!!!! INCREDIBLE fish! Awesome to let him swim! Congrats!
*Now, can we cut this guy out of the picture and put me in it??! LOL Just kidding! ;)
That fish is a pig. Kudos for the catch and release. Good to hear it bolted away.
Record or not, that's still a damn nice fish!
Kudos for releasing it!
Hmmm, 54 inches weighing 70 pounds does seem like a stretch. I really don't care much about records though. Awesome fish for that dude and I'm sure he'll have the picture for a loooong time lol.
The circumference of a 34" girth works out to be 10.8" in diameter. That looks about right for a 54" fish.
I am sorry, but there is no way a 54" fish is 70 Pounds. World Record Currently is 69 Pounds + unless I googled wrong. Several fish over 60" have been caught and were not 70 pounds. Last known 60+" fish was caught out of Green Island Lodge on Lake Manitou in the 90's. Picture of it on the Mepps Catalog back then. Article about that fish on Canada Fishing Guides Home Page. I have written several articles on Muskie, and 54" is a good fish but nothing that is near a world record.
nice fish and i don't know what sportsman you people know but the ones i know are honest stand up people .to many people go straight to the negative .oh well nice job buddy hope you kiss her
OK I gotta ask: "WHAT WAS THE CRANK BAIT HE CAUGHT HIM ON???" At night? Correctly me if I am wrong, but Muskie is a daylight/dawn predator. Right?
Awesome fish, regardless of actual weight!
I realize it is the catch of a lifetime I just hope it survives after the handling evident in the photo.
Don't beleive everything you see on the internet...
The 65 pound fish that was release in 2009 was not weight on a scale. It's weight was calculate with a formula using is mesurements.
Weight = length * length * girt /800
The fish was 58" long and had a girt of 33". It was a pig.
http://fishing.about.com/od/muskieandpike/a/muskie_fw.htm
The fish show here is indeed a great fish. But nobody will make me beleive that a 54" musky with a girt like the one I see on the picture will weight more than 70 pounds.. That's not true.
For a 54" fish to be 70 pounds +, it would have to had a 34" girt! It would have had a real obese belly...
The picture shows nothing but a bad holding technique...
This is so phony...
Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's need to get out of the business of buying game animals to mount. That's a great fish and needs to be kept in the gene pool.
Post a Comment