Blew the old record away. Don't let your children swim in Burnsville Lake! 

 

https://www.fieldandstream.com/fishing/west-virginia-record-muskie/

Its been broke 3 times in the past 5 years?  Ya, I'd say they're developing a trophy class muskie fishery.

Whoa!!!!

What a stud fish. 

That's a big'n.

I've only caught 1 musky " mistakenly " and it was in WV on a jerkbait.

That fish is clearly on steroids. ? Wow!

Best part of the story is he caught the 51 pound muskie from land.

I bet he didn’t lip it. Wow what a catch.

Wonder how old she is.

1 hour ago, slonezp said:

Wonder how old she is.

You would not believe the number of people that said he was a bad boy or otherwise reference a male fish.

Were she 40" or so, it would be a toss up as to male or female.

 

I was watching a show the other day. Don't remember what species of fish it was but most are born male and the larger fish become female once they reach reproductive age.

That fish rates a double wow! 

I saw that.

It's a great dish.

But I'm torn between celebrating that, and realizing that fish - and years worth of her incredibly important offspring - is lost to the fishery.

That's not on those anglers, and I don't want to take way from their excitement, and accomplishment, but this is a  a failure of a system that elevates records above the health of the resource and angler education.

I cringe every time time I see a big Esox held vertically...dead fish swimming.  Again...that's not on the anglers...they don't know, or most of them wouldn't do it...

Sorry to go off on a tangent...

 

6 hours ago, slonezp said:

Wonder how old she is.

20 years +

7 hours ago, GaryH said:

I bet he didn’t lip it. Wow what a catch.

He'd have a new nickname if he did.

"Lefty" if he lipped her right handed...

1 hour ago, Further North said:

I saw that.

It's a great dish.

But I'm torn between celebrating that, and realizing that fish - and years worth of her incredibly important offspring - is lost to the fishery.

That's not on those anglers, and I don't want to take way from their excitement, and accomplishment, but this is a  a failure of a system that elevates records above the health of the resource and angler education.

I cringe every time time I see a big Esox held vertically...dead fish swimming.  Again...that's not on the anglers...they don't know, or most of them wouldn't do it...

Sorry to go off on a tangent...

 

20 years +

He'd have a new nickname if he did.

"Lefty" if he lipped her right handed...

Cheer up ole pal, I’d say this particular Muskie fishery is pretty healthy 

That's awesome.   What a monster.

Measured, weighed and released. Fish and game personnel met him at the River. 
https://www.outdoorlife.com/fishing/record-muskie-west-virginia/

7 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Cheer up ole pal, I’d say this particular Muskie fishery is pretty healthy 

The loss of this particular fish's DNA matters, but not as much as the systemic issue.

We've all seen it, and will see it again this season with every species we fish for.

 

3 minutes ago, Further North said:

The loss of this particular fish's DNA matters

How is it lost?

 

They put it back in the river, alive and healthy.

I missed this part too in the original article.  Pretty astonishing that is was kept alive and released during the whole verification process.  Kudos to those guys.

 

Eventually, Aaron Yeager a DNR assistant fish biologist arrived on the scene with a measuring board and a scale. They taped the fish at 55 1/16-inches in length, with a 27-inch girth. They kept the fish alive and frisky in a specially aerated live tank that Yeager had in his truck. Then they trucked the fish to a certified weigh scale at a feed store in the town of Gassaway, where it was officially weighed at 51 pounds.

 

“The fish was in great shape in the oxygenated tank that Yeager had, and it was released unharmed back into the river,” says King.

King filled out all appropriate paperwork with Yeager to register the fish as the new state-record muskie for weight and overall length. With Yeager present to witness the weighing and measuring, it’s a virtual certainty it will rank number one in the West Virginia record book.

“I never would have put that fish through this process if the water hadn’t been cold and it was handled well by a fisheries biologist with a highly-aerated tank,” says King. “This is all about the fish, and I was for sure going to release this great musky alive and well.”

18 minutes ago, Further North said:

The loss of this particular fish's DNA matters, but not as much as the systemic issue.

We've all seen it, and will see it again this season with every species we fish for.

 

If the fish was 20 years old, I’d say it’s DNA is swimming all through the water 

 

if it’s that big a problem, don’t fish for them 

24 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

If the fish was 20 years old, I’d say it’s DNA is swimming all through the water 

 

if it’s that big a problem, don’t fish for them 

...again, not the point, and I've been clear about that.

Guys, it was released after handling with care and an aerated tank.  Moot point you're arguing about now.

39 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

How is it lost?

 

They put it back in the river, alive and healthy.

Look at the picture.

That is not a healthy fish.

Anyone who spends any serious time chasing muskies knows this.

Old decrepit mamaw Muskie 

3 minutes ago, gimruis said:

Guys, it was released.  Moot point you're arguing about now.

It was...and I know better than to start a discussion on this...

But again, while the one fish is important, it's the systemic issue that was the point...not the one fish...which seems to be the distraction people want to talk about.