Fisherman nabs two massive muskies on same day in Minnesota. ‘I was in disbelief’
Some may call it luck, some may call it skill, but whatever bracket it falls under, it was one heck of a good day to be on the water. At least for one angler on Minnesota’s Mille Lacs Lake who reeled in not one, but two muskies that fell just short of the state’s catch-and-release length category.
“It was such an insane day, I don’t think it will ever happen again,’‘ angler Benjamin Knutson said to the Star-Tribune of his double catch. “I was in shock.’‘
The first muskie Knutson nabbed measured 56.5 inches and weighed an estimated 51 pounds, USA Today Sports reported.
“I knew right away,” he said according to USA. “This was the one I was hunting for; it was her!”
And two hours later...the angler of Inver Grove Heights wrestled yet another muskie that measured 53.25 inches and weighed an estimated 54 pounds, USA Today said.
“Catching two 50-inch muskies in one day is quite a feat,’‘ said Tom Heinrich, Mille Lacs fisheries supervisor for the Department of Natural Resources to the Star Tribune. “They’re just not that common.’‘
The second muskie actually charged the boat and “began to thrash when it was half-netted and Knutson thought for a moment he might lose the fish,” he said to USA Today.
According to American Expedition, a muskellunge (or muskie) is the largest member of the pike family with an elongated body and flat head that prefer shallow water with thick weeds to hide in while hunting other fish.
“You don’t go to Mille Lacs and catch two 50lbers in one day,” Knutson said in a Facebook post.
This story was originally published December 17, 2020 at 12:53 PM with the headline "Fisherman nabs two massive muskies on same day in Minnesota. ‘I was in disbelief’."