world record muskellunge (2024)

FAQs

What is the world record for the muskellunge? ›

In October of 1949, Louie Spray caught a muskie that weighed 69 pounds, 11 ounces from the Chippewa Flowage near Haywood, Wisconsin. That muskie is recognized by the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame as the “All Tackle” muskellunge record.

Muskellunge commonly reach lengths of around 37 inches. The world record was caught in Hayward, Wisconsin in 1949. The fish weighed 67 pounds 8 ounces and was 60 1/4 inches long.

This is part of the reason that people have trouble telling them apart. However, Muskie do grow to be much bigger than Pike. The average Pike is less than two feet, while Muskie regularly hit twice that size. The IGFA record for Pike stands at just over 55 pounds, 12 pounds short of the record for Muskie.

Muskellunge have long been called “the fish of 1,000 casts” because they're so difficult to catch. By that measure, 50-inch muskies might easily be called “the fish of a million casts.” Hansbarger says, however, that those cast-per-fish ratios are coming down. “It's not really a thousand casts anymore.

Pike and muskies rarely attack people, but attacks do happen. These species draw more human blood than "scarier" freshwater fish.

Tiger muskies are the rarest and most elusive of all North American esocids. In most settings where they occur naturally, they have a nearly mythical status. A mere sighting of a trophy specimen gets people talking.

Pete Maina is an author, professional muskellunge (muskie) angler, professional photographer, TV show host, professional speaker and former magazine owner. Maina's specialty is muskie fishing, and has advocated for conservation of the muskie species. Maina resides in Hayward, Wisconsin.

On average, musky are about 11 inches long after their first year of life, reach 34” in year 7, reach 40” in year 9, and reach 50 inches by age 17.

Adult muskies have no aquatic predators, but may fall victim to disease, large birds of prey, or people. Muskellunge can live to about 18 years old, but fish up to 30 years of age have been documented.

“Why are muskies the fish of 10,000 casts? They're sedentary and they hide, so you have to cast where they are. And we have anecdotal evidence that these fish seem to learn when anglers are around and actively avoid lures.

What is the best bait for muskies? ›

Bucktails – Bucktails are arguably the most popular bait used by musky anglers. Bucktails produce vibrations in the water that are easily felt by a musky's lateral line. Bucktails can be retrieved at any speed, depending on the conditions. The most popular bucktails are double 9 blades and double 10 blades.

The largest known muskie is 67 pounds 8 ounces. Or it's 69 pounds 11 ounces.

Great White Shark, 1959

In 1959, Alfred Dean caught the largest fish on record, a great white shark that weighed more than a ton off the southern coast of Australia. Using a porpoise for bait, he set the all tackle world record with a 2,664-pound (1,208.37-kilogram) fish.

The bull was scored by two teams of judges to confirm its 131 4/8 points. The massive set of horns weighed 46 pounds. Wark's musk ox beat the record of 130 4/8 points set by Alex Therrien in 2020. “I had the best time of my life, even without shooting a musk ox,” Wark said in a club news release.

Muskie can reach lengths greater than 50 inches and weights of over 50 pounds. Their appearance is streamlined, with their dorsal fin located directly above the anal fin, and their mouth is equipped with sharp canine teeth (Trautman 1981).

Bakke's 58.25-inch muskie had an estimated weight of about 65 pounds, according to In-Fisherman's conversion table for inches to weight for prized muskies. Bakke's new record bettered a tie for Minnesota's catch-and-release muskies of 57.25 inches caught in 2019 and 2021 from Lake Vermilion.