World Record Muskie

Catchin' Anything: Striped bass catch shy of world record

A new Rhode Island state record for striped bass was set last weekend when Peter Vican of East Greenwich caught a 77.4-pound striper, replacing and beating his own previous state record of 76.14 pounds that Vican caught in 2008. He was fishing live eels off Block Island aboard the Happy Executive with a friend, Don Smith, when the big fish took the eel at around 3:30 a.m. The new record was 52 inches long and just one pound and one ounce shy of the world record striped bass that weighed 78.5 pounds, caught in 1982 in Atlantic City, N.J. Offshore fishing is also picking from 15-30 miles south of Block Island with both bluefin and yellowfin tuna.

In Buzzards Bay, striper fished slowed a little early in the week, but started to pick up again the past couple of days and should continue on the upswing with the approaching new moon. Lots of bait around too, with butterfish around The Islands so casting chrome jigs has been taking some good bass. Jigging, trolling wood on wire and fishing live eels are also taking fish. There are sand eels at the West End of the Canal and mackerel at the East End so sand eel imitations are best at the West End and mackerel pattern lures at the East.

Inshore, Westport has been a hotspot this year and continues to heat up with lots of bluefish off Gooseberry and there are still stripers being caught at the Route 88 Bridge. The bridge is also producing some monster scup in the 15-16-inch range, with a few up to 17.

Still plenty of bluefish through the Bay and along the shoreline to the Canal. The waters off Sconticut Neck have been good and a 13 ½-pounder was caught from the Hurricane Dike. Lots of scup throughout the Bay and big black sea bass are still around Cleveland's to Bird Island, but warmer waters should be pushing them into deeper cooler water within a week or two. Fluke fishing has been spotty and hit or miss at best.

In freshwater, largemouth bass fishing is picking up as the fish are feeding aggressively after the spawn and with the approaching new moon. As the days get warmer, night fishing becomes increasingly effective with big topwater lures, like muskie-sized Jitterbugs, being a favorite.

For America's boaters, the July 4th holiday is expected to bring record numbers of boaters to the water, jamming bays, harbors and rivers with thousands of revelers celebrating Independence Day at evening fireworks displays. And being a summer holiday, fishermen will be out on the water and returning with their catch, which increases boating traffic and congestion at ramps, docks and marinas. With nightfall, it also means a heightened awareness with boating safety, cautions the Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS).

Louie Spray World Record Muskie | Lures for Fishing

Louie Spray is supposedly the man who caught the world record muskie back in 1949, the huge fish weighed in at 69 pounds 11 ounces and measured a total of 63 1/2 inches. The fish is just incredible! But there has been but of scrutiny behind the fish, saying it was 10 inches shorter than what Louie Spray said it was. I'm not sure if his muskie is a world record fake, but I do know that it is one hell of a sized fish.

The Quest for the World Record Bass

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The Muskellunge Symposium, a memorial tribute to E.J. Crossman

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Musky country, the book of North America's premier big game fish