Firsthand Field Report -- Northwest Ontario, Canada

Johnson is also more realistic than most when it comes to having seen what he considers to have been a world-record fish. “I’ve caught hundreds of muskies in the 48- to 56-inch size,” he says, “but never anything bigger. Maybe I’m unlucky with the monsters, but I have some real good fishing buddies who also have spent thousands of hours on Lake of the Woods and they’ve never seen one either.”

Gosse agrees with Johnson. He says more well-documented, over-50-inch muskies are showing up on Lake Seul, but 55 inches appears to be the upper limit. Then again, given the size and relative remoteness of the giant reservoir, he quickly adds: “I’m on the right body of water to have the chance at a fish over 60 inches.”

For reasons mostly habitat-related, Eagle Lake may be the best place in Northwestern Ontario to hunt for a new world record. It has held the honor in the past. It has produced some recent, well-documented fish in the 55- to 60-pound range. Better yet, according to Jaeger, he has seen a record book contender—twice, as a matter of fact.

“I was throwing a perch-colored Depth Raider,” he says, “when I spotted the tip of a gigantic muskie tail sticking out of the water. I cast the lure, twitched it, and she ate it. I only had her on for about 5 seconds. I figured she was well over 58 inches. A few days later, my dad and I pulled into the same spot and I saw the tail sticking out of the water again. The water was crystal clear and this time she lethargically followed my lure all the way to the boat. I did a big, wide oval but she hung behind the lure. This one’s a true giant—over 60, maybe even 65 pounds.”

Tweak the Regs to Produce Goliath?

If, as our experts suggest, Northwestern Ontario muskie fisheries have benefited greatly from the modern rule changes, is there a way to perhaps fine-tune the regulations to produce even bigger, say 60-inch-plus, 65-pound, world-record fish?

Johnson doesn’t think so. He says the regulations have done a superb job, but that it’s now up to muskie anglers to do their part by better handling of the fish they catch and release.

“It’s particularly a problem with the bigger fish,” he says, “as they’re harder to handle and more likely to be photographed numerous times. Folks still need to learn proper release techniques. I still see floaters, particularly during the hot summer months. There’s really no need to take ten photographs of these fish.”

Gord Bastable is the owner of Vermilion Bay Lodge on Eagle Lake and one of the region’s most respected muskie guides. He wishes the rules prohibited the use of livebait, although he’s quick to acknowledge that when muskie anglers use suckers and quick-strike rigs properly, they likely injure no more fish than when casting lures. Still, he worries about less-experienced anglers who use smaller baitfish, don’t use quick-strike rigs, let the fish swallow the bait, and don’t hire skilled guides.

Muskies Canada’s Charles Weiss sides with Bastable. He says banning the use of suckers would eliminate the mortality associated with gut-hooked muskies. “It would also send a message to visitors to Ontario that we really are serious about preserving the fish,” he adds. “Using livebait is backward, in my view, and shows a disregard for the fish.”