A little fisherman caught a muskie weighing more than 15 kilograms (4 photos)

“Why are you like a girl? Be a man!". Brutal guys often make such claims to each other. But any of them would clearly dream of taking the place of this fragile girl. At least those who love fishing.





The Saffert family - Jamie, his daughter Leah and son Scott from Rice Lake, Wisconsin, spent a few days over the New Year's holiday at the family cabin in Zippel Bay, and decided to start the morning of December 31 with fishing.



Jamie and Leah

We fished in shallow water, where pike perch are not very well caught during the day. Therefore, we decided to throw several fishing rods into the holes in the hope of catching a big pike. Jamie wanted his daughter to feel the same excitement of a fisherman when he catches a fish more than a meter long. Pike with a length of 75 to 100 centimeters must be released back, as required by the fishing rules on Lake Lesnoe.

A 10-year-old girl cast a hook and realized that she had caught something very heavy. Leah was captivated by the game with the toothy predator:

At first it was very easy, but then she started to drag a little. My hands were so cold that I tried to grab the fishing line with my sweatshirt. But it felt like the sweatshirt was just sliding over it rather than pulling it or anything.

As a result, the fifth-grader realized that she couldn’t cope. And she called her father for help. There was no tape measure in the house, but it was possible to find out the length of the catch quite accurately: inside there was a marked sheet of plywood, and the muskellunge pike, the largest pike in the world, turned out to be about 120 centimeters long and weighing about 15 kg.

Translated from the Indian dialect maashkinoozhe means “ugly pike.” And the modified French expression masque allonge means “extended mask.”





Musk Pike

The mask, as the fish is called in its abbreviated form, can grow up to 2 meters and weigh 30 kg. The muskie differs from its usual companion by the presence of scales on the gills, a pointed tail fin and the presence of dark spots on the body.

As experienced fishermen say, the predator is quite aggressive and strong. Therefore, beginners should not take on large pike on their own: instead of catching prey in a reservoir, you can easily catch an already unlucky fisherman.



But the fifth-grader’s father helped. After several memorable photos, the toothy predator was released back into the lake. The little fisherman got her moment of fame at school and is getting ready for her next interview.

Leah had unforgettable impressions from fishing, and her father ordered a decorative copy of the catch, which will be hung on the wall of the house.

The head of the Saffert family noted that his daughter’s luck provoked unprecedented interest in Forest Lake. The man hopes that this year will end with no less big fish for their family than the last.