Syracuse.com - Two potential, world record-setting St. Lawrence muskies caught within two days

[HuntingNY-News]

They were both caught within two days of each other last week!

Two huge muskies - both with world record potential - were caught within two days of each other last week on the St. Lawrence River.

The record the anglers are hoping to get is the International Game Fish Association's "All Tackle Length" record which focuses on the fish's length (as opposed to weight) and stresses that the fish be released alive after being measured.

"I knew mine was big when I got him," said Mark Carlson, of Rockford, Ill., who caught the larger of the two fish, which measured at least 56 inches. "I initially couldn't get the rod out of the rod holder. When he turned to swim behind the boat, I was just about pulled out of the boat."

The first muskie caught -- an impressive, 54-incher -- was landed Dec. 2 on the St. Lawrence River by Matt Forjohn, of Ambler, Pa. He was aboard a charter boat, Water Wolf Charters, with Capt. Bob Walters of Skaneateles Falls.

Matt Forjohn's 54 incher.Submitted photo 

The fish was measured using an official IGFA measuring device. Per IGFA rules, it was measured from the front lip to the "v" of its tail (not the outer tip). Using that technique, it measured 130 centimeters (51.18 inches). That's two centimeters longer than the current record set in 2011 by Mark Carlson, who caught that fish in the Ottawa River in Canada.

Forjohn caught his fish on a 12-inch, Swim Whizz lure, which was painted to resemble a small walleye. The fish hit while Walter's 31-foot Cherokee boat was trolling near a shoal at Carleton Island, which is about where the river begins on Lake Ontario.

The catch, measurement and release were captured on the boat's video camera.

Walters said bigger muskie have been caught and released in the river and elsewhere. He noted, though, that IGA rules require an official measuring device, pictures, samples of the line and leader and the proper paperwork to be filled out -- along with a 60-day wait to see if there's any challenges to the catch -- before it's declared a record.

"We did everything that was asked," he said.

Jack Vitek, the IGFA's record coordinator, confirmed Wednesday the application had been received and that "everything seems in order." Barring any unforeseen problems, he said a world record certificate would probably be issued to Norjohn by early February. But it appears that record won't last long.

Carlson, who was interviewed Wednesday evening, said "I had no clue" that Norjohn's fish broke his 2011 record. He was was out fishing Dec.4 in the Gananoque area of the river.

"I was out trolling with IGFA muskie expert Mike Lazarus when the fish struck a Legend perch bait," he said, adding the fish was netted after a 15-minute battle.

Carlson said the fish measured "over 56 inches on the bump board and IGFA ruler without pinching the tail." He said he hasn't submitted his paperwork yet to the IGFA.

Carlson said the fish was so big and was wiggling so much that he didn't measure the fish squarely on the official IGFA measuring device. He participates in a Canadian fisheries fish tagging program and cut the measuring session short to get the tag on the fish, and to make sure the fish was alive when it was released.

"It was hard to position. I settled on 132 centimeters, but it was probably 134," he said.

BIG MUSKIES

The IGFA's "All Tackle" world records are determined by weight instead of length.

The Florida-based group's All Tackle record for a muskie is held by Carl Johnson. It weighed 67 pounds, 8 ounces and was caught in 1949 on Lake Court Oreilles in Hayward, Wisc.

The IGFA's special All Tackle Length category was created in 2011.

Matt Forjohn's muskie weighed nearly 50 pounds. Mark Carlson said his fish weighed more than 55 pounds.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog