In October 2024, seasoned record-chaser Art Weston hooked what may be a world-record 54-inch muskie on Minnesota’s Mille Lacs Lake. The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) is currently reviewing the catch for potential world-record status in the all-tackle length category.
Weston, an angler from Kentucky with nearly 40 fishing records to his name, teamed up with renowned Minnesota muskie guide Nolan Sprengeler for this attempt. Their strategy: night fishing—a first for Weston. “Casting massive lures into the darkness was frankly a bit unnerving,” Weston admitted in a statement to the Minnesota Star Tribune. However, the unusual approach paid off.
On the night of October 29, during their second outing on Mille Lacs, Weston and Sprengeler focused on some of Sprengeler’s prime fishing spots. Just before midnight, Weston’s lure was struck roughly 30 yards from their boat. “The strike was like a Mack Truck grabbing my lure,” Weston recalled. Guided by Sprengeler’s advice to reel fast, Weston soon spotted the muskie’s torpedo-shaped silhouette surfacing. “It’s big!” Weston shouted, to which Sprengeler confidently replied, “I know!”
The duo successfully netted the fish and, after precise measurements and photos, released the 54.33-inch (138 cm) muskie back into the lake. Weston has submitted the necessary documentation to the IGFA, eagerly awaiting confirmation of the potential world record.
This isn’t Sprengeler’s first encounter with massive muskies. In 2021, he landed a 57¾-inch muskie on Mille Lacs that weighed nearly 56 pounds. Unlike that icy November catch, the weather for Weston and Sprengeler’s recent adventure was far more cooperative.
Though the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has its own record fish program, no new applications for a catch-and-release muskie record had been submitted as of early November.
Reflecting on the experience, Weston described it as a “great feeling” and one he’ll never forget.
Image/Source: StarTribune
