A long time ago (Sounds Fishy to Me) I staked out a position on muskies. I told you there weren’t any of ’em in Torch Lake. I said you should count on catching whitefish, perch, bass, lake trout – no muskies. Well.
When I am wrong I am spectacularly wrong. But at least I admit my enormous, muskie-sized mistakes. On Sunday Kyle Anderson of Rapid City caught a muskie in the Torch River, the same Torch River that flows south from Torch Lake, the same Torch River where I was peacefully canoeing just this summer. Not just any muskie, either—a state record muskie. It weighed 50 lbs. 8 oz. and was 55 inches long.
So what does Kyle, who works at Luhr’s Landing, have to say about this feat? Well, he’s enjoying it. Most of the muskies he catches are a lot smaller than that. Only about half of ’em are bigger than 36 inches. Wait, wait – he regularly catches muskies? What with all the time I’m going to have to spend catching a crow to eat, I do not have time to go over to Rapid City today to take pictures, but you can see Kyle and his fish here:
- The Detroit Free Press: Rapid City angler catches record muskie wherein we learn that the DNR fisheries division has known about this monster since last spring, when biologists brought it up in a net during a tagging operation on Torch Lake. And did they warn us? They did not. That settles it. From now on when I go kayaking in Torch Lake I’m bringing my trusty Muskinator pistol, and leaving Miss Sadie and the Cowboy at home.
- Field & Stream: New Michigan state record Great Lakes muskie caught in Torch Lake, near Traverse City. (Near Traverse City? Sheesh. Plus I’m pretty sure he actually caught it in the Torch River.) There’s a whole gallery of David Rose’s photos of Kyle and The Muskie, along with a whole lot of disputatious comments. You can amuse yourself reading those, but I am firmly on the side of the “it’s real” contingent.
- This week’s Elk Rapids News but you’ll have to look on page 23 of the paper version, because I can’t give you a link to the photo online.
I’m going to go look for recipes for crow pie. Or maybe muskie pie.
Torch Lake Views 
Katherine
October 4, 2009
Make sure you spit out the feathers. LOL
That’s a BIG fish
dmarks
October 4, 2009
Of course there are muskies. The main diet of Torchie, the Torch Lake Monster.
Gerry
October 4, 2009
Aha! I heard Torchie was caught in the current of the Infamous Torch Trench and washed out to the Bay through the Underground River. So that explains it all. With Torchie gone, the muskies are coming back. GAAAHH!!
giiid
October 4, 2009
This fish did impress all the family here!!! We are once again convinced that “Everything is bigger in America” as we use to say. Hopefully this can be said about your defence-equipment, too.
Gerry
October 4, 2009
I don’t know about everything, but certainly muskies are bigger than most other fish, not to mention certain dogs of my acquaintance. The size of the national debt and the quantity of burrs in the Cowboy’s curly fur are pretty impressive, too, but not in a good way. Since my trusty Muskinator pistol is wholly imaginary, it can be any size I like. I think it’s very large.
Scott Thomas Photography
October 5, 2009
Now, that’s a fish! Feed a family of four for a week. Do you like your crow baked or fried? 😉
Gerry
October 5, 2009
I’ve examined the issue from every angle, and I’ve decided I like my crow metaphorical. The muskie, on the other hand, should be stuffed with a wild leek dressing and sauteed gently in unsalted butter. Now if I can just find a really, really big frying pan . . .
Peggy Dolane
October 5, 2009
I’ll never view swimming in Torch the same way again after finding a photo of that monster on Twitter last week. Un-fricking-believable.
Connie
October 8, 2009
How do we get in touch with you to go fishing with you??
Gerry
October 8, 2009
Ah. I’m not the one who catches muskies. That would be Kyle. He works at Luhrs Landing on Torch River Road in Rapid City. I expect you can track him down over there.
On the other hand, if you really do want to go fishing with me, presumably for the entertainment value rather than to actually catch any sizeable fish, you’d do well to track me down at Sonny’s somewhere near the cinnamon rolls.