This Tennessee state record muskie is enormous!
Melton Hill Reservoir just got famous. As of today, this is home to the new Tennessee state record muskie. Even though this catch is still considered to be pending, it clearly broke the old record set back in 1983.
Muskies are known to be a hard fish to catch. However, once they get dialed in, they can become slightly predictable. Either way, the stars aligned when Stephen Paul caught this 43 lbs. 14 oz. monster fish. According to the report, it came on a artificial bait right around 6:00 pm on March 2nd. After some quick measurements, Paul's giant muskie registered at 51 3/8 inches in length with a girth of 23 ½ inches. The current state record, caught back in 1983, measured out to 42 lbs. 8 oz. As you can see, Paul's fish will easily take that mark.
To date, all muskies in Milton Hill are stocked by the state. According to officials, no natural reproduction actually takes place. This is undoubtabdly a success story that should be shared through all fishing circles because it only goes to show the value of what catch-and-release can do.
In this case, Paul's fish was kept. Due to the size of the fish and the fight, it died during the release. It was only for this reason that Paul took the fish to be certified. Otherwise, this would have been just another big fish story of the one that was let go to grow even bigger for the next fisherman to catch.
NEXT: CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS STURGEON WAS ACTUALLY CAUGHT ICE FISHING?
https://rumble.com/embed/u7gve.v3tsdx/
