Muskie Article

By DENNIS COGSWELL / H-P Outdoor Editor

CASSOPOLIS -- When he flipped a tube jig into 11/2 feet of water on Diamond Lake last week, Rich Charleston was just pre-fishing for a bass tournament.

What he got may turn out to be a new world record northern muskie.
The St. Joseph angler and fishing partner Justin Hahaj of Bridgman were tossing tubes under boat docks when Charleston hooked what he figured was a pretty good bass. That was until they realized it was a huge muskie.

"We looked at each other and we were just speechless," said Charleston, who was only using 6-pound test line. "I loosened the drag, and anytime he took off, I just backreeled him."

Besides being excited about the size of the fish, Charleston and Hahaj were stunned because while Diamond Lake has a healthy pike population, it isn't supposed to have any muskies.

Charleston said the fish never really fought that hard, but made a run every time he got it close to the boat. After about 45 minutes, he finally got it close enough to net.

"I only have a small, little bass net and when my partner tried to lift the fish into the boat, it just went berserk," Charleston said.

The thrashing muskie pretty much destroyed the net, but Charleston and Hahaj were able to straddle the fish long enough to keep it from flopping out of the boat.

When they weighed it several hours later on a certified scale at BJ's Sports in south St. Joseph, it came out at a whopping 391/2 pounds. Charleston figures the fish lost some weight after being taken out of the water, estimating it may have been three or four pounds heavier when he landed it.

He later checked the International Game Fish Association Web site and believes the fish is a 6-pound test world record.

"I looked on the computer and there was nothing registered (for muskies) under 20 pounds (test line)."

He believes he was able to land the muskie because it was hooked in the corner of the mouth where it couldn't bite through the line.

How it got into Diamond Lake will probably never be known.

"Someone either illegally stocked it or there is a slight chance it made it up Christianna Creek (and into the lake) from the St. Joseph River," said Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist Jay Wesley. "The state of Indiana does stock muskies in the river."
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