Photo taken by Dave Rose, I live in the Traverse City Area, Dave Rose is a reputable guy and inland lake guide. No way that's photoshop. Plus, there are tons of witnesses. Sick Fish.

storminspank, theres ONE of you in every group... the constant naysayer. The fish is legit, certified by the MDNR. Isn't that good enough for you? I suppose you think the photos of the new state record Brown Trout were faked too? I can tell you they weren't as I know the guide.

Awsome fish and congratulations to the angler. State record and world record. Something the rest of us who ply Michigan's waters can only dream of!!

Well myself and everyone esle that's made comments here have NO issues with the photos. I believe them to be legit. Why in the world would this angler or any of his friends take the time to change them? No need. The fish is huge, a state record, and bigger than any other Musky you, me, or anyone else has probably ever seen.

Thats nearly the size of him!

I will have to pay a visit to Torch Lake!

Awesome, awesome, awesome Muskie... great effort to release.

out of curiosity, is it legal to troll 3 rods with one person in the boat in MI or was there others in the boat?

Awesome awesome fish!!!!!!

nice one man

that is awsome!!!!!! We need more of thede kind of trophies in MI.

What an amazing fish- I'd love to know how long it took him to bring that thing in.

I read it. 9" muskie magnet. The lure looks beat up, Did the fish's teeth do that?

What a fish!?! That Muskie is unreal. Compliments to Kyle Anderson for reeling this in successfully, and to the staff editors here for sharing it with us. This motivates me to go out and find my own.

NICE CATCH!!! I'm proud to know that the Muskie was brought in at my dad's marina, Luhrs Landing! How weird is it to know that I've been swimming with that big of Muskies for my whole life!!!

Great Job! Must have been an amazing fight! Id love to catch one of those sometime SOON!

schram,
The fish was tagged in Clam lake near the DNR access ramp. What we've seen with the muskies so far is that they winter and stage for spawning in the shallower lakes where there is more food (Clam, Skegemog), and after they spawn they typically move out into the deeper lakes where they suspend under lakers, cisco, and whitefish. As far as spawning is concerned, fish from the Torch river down spawn in the river, while fish from Torch lake/Clam spawn in Clam lake itself.
As far as where she was caught, I believe she was in the SE end of the lake near Alden (which is where she has been since June 21 of this year).

Great fish! The red on the fins is very vibrant!

I agree with Storminspank. Either the hair-due on that woman was photoshopped, or Anderson had to go back to 1988 to find a 50lb scale.

Crazy fish my friend, congratulations.

this fish was caught on the lake i live on! torch lake is the most beautiful place in the world. and these photos are definitely not photoshopped. ive seen muskies that my dad has caught out of the same lake and river, many of them are large compared to other areas of northern michigan. congratulations on the great catch kyle!

I thought they were fake to until I analyzed them. Definitely not digitally modified (Oh and I'm not just a photographer). Nice Fish!

Never mind. Just saw the shot of it on ice. Bummer.
Are you going to eat it!? What was the point? IGFA takes legal submissions with photos (on and off a scale, with tape measure) and overall measurements.
Witnesses and other verification help further. Seems a shame to have killed this monster for a photo.

Well fake or not that is one amazing fish. Congratulations and happy fishing

OK, at first I was actually one of the people who thought the first 2 shots looked photoshopped, but after seeing the pics blown up, and seeing the extra bonus shots posted by the webmaster, I'm totally convinced they are real. After all, why would anyone with a record fish have to exaggerate it in pics!
Good job guys and sorry a few of us doubted the pics.

I know torch well but didn't know it was muskie water (Too clear and not enough life) Any idea where it was caught? Near the river or further out?

Hey "schmallhorse" another question I have is how far away from where you tagged her was she caught? And where abouts did you tag her in torch?

Awesome fish...

Love that he tried to release first.
Good Hook

It's too cold to swim in Torch this year anyway!
NOW I understand why the guys sit around for hours in fishing boats out in front of my house! I'd always heard, "There are no fish in Torch"!

hey Shmallhorse,
Is the study you guys were doing available to the public at all through the DNR or anything like that? If so, I would love to get a copy of the data.
Thanks!

Great catch. Great fish. What a monster

Great catch. Great fish. What a monster

I'm an avid musky hunter and have never kept a musky. I don't allow a musky to be kept in my boat! But any kind of record, it's going on the wall. This is a once in a lifetime fish. Anyone releasing a fish of this caliber, hats off to them. I'm big into Musky conservation, but these record fish are an exception. Nice fish, and don't feel bad about keeping it.

What an amazing fish! Once in a lifetime catch. That would eat any muskie I've ever caught for breakfast! Congrats man

Awesome catch Kyle!!! I was on a mission this year to break the record but I spent my time on Skegemog. I had a ton of action over there out from the landing. I've always seen Torn as a boating lake and not for fishing. I'll be spending more time on Elk and Torch now. Thanks

Shmallhorse,wow what a story, with the fact that it began last may, adds alot to this record. However, I cannot wait for your published thesis next year, I need to get more facts before that. There is a reason for that! I was on the SE end of Torch fishing on the drop off near Alden 25 - 40 feet of water throwing 'buuldawgs, cowgirls, doublecowgirls, little ernies, etc...i'm sure you get the picture. I was not trolling. The reason for this area of the lake to fish in was because in '05, while trolling for browns, or atlantics, or lakers, I had a 25 minute battle with a huge muskie, (that I released). It was two days before the weekend opener (April ??). This really peaked my interest as I turned an interest to targeting this remakable species. However, am I wasting time casting for this specie on such a gin clear lake, and what else did your studies reveal about the browns, lake trout, or atlantic salmon on these waters? Is this the medium to use for this info? Can you help?

Shmallhorse,
I'll definitely be looking at the reports when you publish your thesis.
But for now, can you answer me this? Would I be wasting my time around the mouth of the clam river? It seems like that would be a good spot for ciscoes to spawn, and it's right on the way to the muskies wintering location in clam lake.

PS...snoopsister, read the whole story, the fish was gill hooked and he tried to revive it for almost an hour, but it just wasn't going to happen...so then and only then did he decide to keep it.

Thats one of the prettiest, coolest ,biggest fish I've seen.

I don't think you can photoshop that smile.

Exceptional fish, Photoshop my butt! Anyone that doesn't recognize that head structure obviously has not had their on many BIG muskies! Outstanding fish! Congratulations Kyle. We never keep muskies, but that bad boy would be on my livingroom wall for sure!

beautiful fish.

WOW, that is the largest muskie i have ever seen! Must of put up a strong fight. Congrats Kyle and good luck fishing.

Why the fish on ice? What about catch and release. You mean he kept it. Who would do a thing like that?

Great fish! Just don't see the need to photoshop the first two pictures---First picture has the shadows going different directions at his feet and holding a 50+ pound fish with his fingertips on outstretched arms???? I don't think so! Blown-up the sencond pic is missing some teeth.

Still, a great fish!

I'm not a constant naysayer. I love seeing big fish. Most pics are true. I'm, for the most part, a positive person. Again, I'm not saying the fish isn't legit. You can tell by the other pics that it is, however, the first two pics are farked. Good for the guys that caught the fish it's a beast, I just wished we could have seen the real pics of them holding it.

And in the second pic, see how big the guys hands are in proportion to the fish. Then compare the size of his hands to the rest of his body. It's not real, folks.