WISCONSIN ANGLER LANDS ONE OF THE BIGGEST MUSKIES EVER CAUGHT ON GREEN BAY

Hedsund's face says it all.© John Vieau / Door County Pulse

It takes a committed angler to get out on the frigid waters of Green Bay in December. But seasoned Sturgeon Bay locals Ron Hedsand and John Vieau took advantage of the mid-30s temps on Dec. 7 and headed out to chase bass and muskie on one of the best muskellunge fisheries in a state.

It’s a good thing the longtime fishing partners decided to brave the chilly weather. Just a few hours later, Hedsand reeled in what the Door County Pulse is reporting as one of the biggest muskies ever caught in Green Bay.

The fish measured 55 inches in length, about 10 inches longer than the upper end of the range for average muskellunge. Dedicated muskie anglers start drooling once a “Fish of 10,000 Casts” reaches the 50-inch mark, making this one a dream come true. But it wasn’t just the length that shocked Hedsand and Vieau.

The girth on the this fish measured an impressive 29.5 inches, putting the estimated weight of the fish at around 60 pounds.

In a 2021 Outdoor Life story, Green Bay muskie guide Doug Wegner said the biggest muskie he knows about coming from Green Bay is a 58.25-inch fish with an estimated weight of 54 pounds (it was caught by his muskie fishing mentor Luke Ronnestrand, a Minnesota guide).

The dimensions on Hedsand's fish were so big they don't even come close to fitting on this muskie weight chart from the Missouri Department of Conservation. That's because muskies in the northern states of Wisconsin and Minnesota grow to epic proportions. For context, one angler recently broke the West Virginia state record with a 51-pound muskie, which was the same length as Hedsand's. Add nine pounds of weight to the fish you see here and you have an idea of the size fish that Hedsand pulled out of Green Bay's waters.

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