Biggest PA muskies from lakes or rivers?

[Red Childress]

I think there are big fish in both lakes and rivers. Now that we have no closed season, things could get very interesting if the timing is right (pre-spawn) for some lucky guy.

I have seen a legit 54.5/44lb. river fish and another that could have been larger........I just did not get to see her depth but very wide across the back......also in that middle-50" class.

55x30 is my guess to break the record. PA fish over 56" is something I have not heard of before (excluding the 1924 fish) so I am banking on the girth to set it apart from the rest.

My 2 cents.

Do you guys think there is a 30-inch girth swimming around in PA??

[HBmusky]

holy crap !! a 30 inch girth fish ? That is a hard one to swallow in pa but I think you are right though I think right on the moneyto. I look at it this way it happend once it can happen again . It would be just hard for a river to provide the wieght I think I know there are big river fish but it does not cater to the fish like a lake does. What I want to know how they would figure out if it was pa or not on pymatuming that gets split right ? I geuss they would have to have witnesses ? I do not know

[Red Childress]

I understand your point completely.

Logical thinking would have me agree with a 30-inch girth being more likely coming from a lake but the heaviest caught and released North American fish (in decades) came from a river......

[HBmusky]

Do you know were? I was just wondering? but Pa biggest musky came from Coneaute lake . Are refering to the st. Lerance whalers ? If so you are not kidding they are some monsters even back in time of Louis Spray that is best known ,but now they are caughting some big creatures also .Do you think that there is a river that is able to harbor a fish of that greatness in PA ? I just think there is too many factors to consider, but I want to believe because of my love for the rivers.

[muskie52]

Howard Wagner's PIG from a few years ago shows that it could happen. And it will probably be him that does it.

Unfortunately, I feel that in order to grow really big muskies consistantly, you need really big water. PA has very little of that.

If I had to pick somewhere that it could happen though, I would say......

Kinzua.......who know what luring in there??? Some piggies for sure! But I don't think many (if any) have the patience to figure that place out.

Allegheny River.......not really a BIG river when compared to the St. Larry or Niagra, but big enough. From Harmarville north, there are some stretches that don't get much pressure. With plenty of forage available, at least a few should be able to grow old and fat.

Raystown......we don't hear much about it. It's big and deep. I'm sure there are some piggies in there, and I'd bet that they're suspended the majority of the time. Sorta like Kinzua...not many (if any) have figured out how to get to them. It's also loaded with forage.

Tony

[Red Childress]

I was referring to the 57x33 caught last November on the Larry.

The PA record musky, like all records, will have to be have the right genetics, abundant food and have the opportunity to grow that big before someone drags her home to lay in a freezer. There has been 1 walleye caught in my section of river wtihin a pound of the 17lb. 6oz. record and it was killed...........those genes are gone now.

Allegheny River fish can grow huge but I agree the record will probably come from a lake or reservoir but you never know.

The musky record is the oldest record we have. Maybe it will never happen.....

[HBmusky]

57 by 33 is ungodly that was caught bby a women ? I think? anyway that is huge! I wounder what the wieght was on that fish? I think you are right about the ginetic .16lb walleye thats a monster! there are going to have to be a lot of factors I think.