Gilligan
02-04-2002, 04:25 PM
Friend just sent me this story and link to the pic. Awesome!
>
> Howard Wagner of Beaver County caught the fish of a lifetime Jan. 9.
>
>
> He landed a 52-pound, 54 1/2-inch muskie with a 28-inch girth on a
> perch-colored Crane bait on the Allegheny River just above Kittanning.
>
>
> Although he had the flu, Wagner had seen the muskie four days earlier
> and was determined to hunt it.
>
>
> "It had followed me that Saturday. It hit my lure then shook its head
> and took off," said Wagner, who had been wading with friend Rick Jackson
> of Ellwood City. "Its head was a foot long. Its eyes were like silver
> dollars. I knew if I didn't go back, I'd lose my chance."
>
>
> So, back he went the following Wednesday, coughing and sneezing and with
> a 102-degree fever. After standing chest-deep in icy water for four
> hours -- "my feet and knees were numb." -- he spotted his prey.
>
>
> "It made my heart race," said Wagner, owner of the Fish Education Center
> in Beaver and a guide who has caught about 1,000 muskie in his life.
>
>
> The fish followed again, then took off. Wagner left the water and walked
> up and down the bank just to warm up. He returned to the river, and
> stood another three hours before the fish reappeared. This time it
> struck, and Wagner set the hook.
>
>
> "She took off 30 feet upstream," he said. "Then she started towards me.
> When I got her right in front of me, on the surface, two feet in front,
> she just watched me, like she wasn't even afraid. I figured I'd grab her
> underneath the gill plates -- I didn't have a net -- but as soon as I
> went to reach for her, she snapped her head so violently, she nearly
> ripped my hand off. She shot off again and stripped my reel of 30-pound
> test."
>
>
> Half an hour later, Wagner landed the muskie.
>
>
> "I tried to grab her again. I pulled her to shore till I was about knee
> deep in water," he said. "I didn't realize how heavy she was. I mean, I
> curl 40 pounds of dumbbells all the time and I couldn't pick her up with
> one hand. I had to put the rod down and cradle her. I got my scale out
> on the riverbank, weighed her, measured her and put her back.
>
>
> "I released her to set an example," he said, though not before capturing
> his prize on film, using a 10-second delay.
>
>
> He watched as the muskie swam, then paused and disappeared.
>
>
> Wagner said the muskie was the heaviest he ever has caught, and Denny
> Tubbs, an aquatics resources program specialist with the Pennsylvania
> Fish and Boat Commission, believes it is the largest the river has
> yielded in at least five decades.
>
>
> "The Allegheny's not currently noted for big muskies, so this is very
> interesting. It's a good indication that the water quality has improved,
> being able to support something that large."
>
>
> The state record for muskie was set in 1924 by Lewis Walker Jr. of
> Meadville, who caught one 54 pounds, 3 ounces in Conneaut Lake in
> Crawford County.
>
> Howard Does it Again
>
>
> What else can be said about Howard Wagner? He's the King! This fish is
> 54 ½ inches long and weighed 52 pounds! It's the biggest musky caught in
> PA in over 50 years. It may be the biggest musky ever released in the
> state. Congratulations Howard.
>
> <http://users.myepath.com/mrmusky/Howard2.jpg>
>
> Howard Wagner of Beaver County caught the fish of a lifetime Jan. 9.
>
>
> He landed a 52-pound, 54 1/2-inch muskie with a 28-inch girth on a
> perch-colored Crane bait on the Allegheny River just above Kittanning.
>
>
> Although he had the flu, Wagner had seen the muskie four days earlier
> and was determined to hunt it.
>
>
> "It had followed me that Saturday. It hit my lure then shook its head
> and took off," said Wagner, who had been wading with friend Rick Jackson
> of Ellwood City. "Its head was a foot long. Its eyes were like silver
> dollars. I knew if I didn't go back, I'd lose my chance."
>
>
> So, back he went the following Wednesday, coughing and sneezing and with
> a 102-degree fever. After standing chest-deep in icy water for four
> hours -- "my feet and knees were numb." -- he spotted his prey.
>
>
> "It made my heart race," said Wagner, owner of the Fish Education Center
> in Beaver and a guide who has caught about 1,000 muskie in his life.
>
>
> The fish followed again, then took off. Wagner left the water and walked
> up and down the bank just to warm up. He returned to the river, and
> stood another three hours before the fish reappeared. This time it
> struck, and Wagner set the hook.
>
>
> "She took off 30 feet upstream," he said. "Then she started towards me.
> When I got her right in front of me, on the surface, two feet in front,
> she just watched me, like she wasn't even afraid. I figured I'd grab her
> underneath the gill plates -- I didn't have a net -- but as soon as I
> went to reach for her, she snapped her head so violently, she nearly
> ripped my hand off. She shot off again and stripped my reel of 30-pound
> test."
>
>
> Half an hour later, Wagner landed the muskie.
>
>
> "I tried to grab her again. I pulled her to shore till I was about knee
> deep in water," he said. "I didn't realize how heavy she was. I mean, I
> curl 40 pounds of dumbbells all the time and I couldn't pick her up with
> one hand. I had to put the rod down and cradle her. I got my scale out
> on the riverbank, weighed her, measured her and put her back.
>
>
> "I released her to set an example," he said, though not before capturing
> his prize on film, using a 10-second delay.
>
>
> He watched as the muskie swam, then paused and disappeared.
>
>
> Wagner said the muskie was the heaviest he ever has caught, and Denny
> Tubbs, an aquatics resources program specialist with the Pennsylvania
> Fish and Boat Commission, believes it is the largest the river has
> yielded in at least five decades.
>
>
> "The Allegheny's not currently noted for big muskies, so this is very
> interesting. It's a good indication that the water quality has improved,
> being able to support something that large."
>
>
> The state record for muskie was set in 1924 by Lewis Walker Jr. of
> Meadville, who caught one 54 pounds, 3 ounces in Conneaut Lake in
> Crawford County.
>
> Howard Does it Again
>
>
> What else can be said about Howard Wagner? He's the King! This fish is
> 54 ½ inches long and weighed 52 pounds! It's the biggest musky caught in
> PA in over 50 years. It may be the biggest musky ever released in the
> state. Congratulations Howard.
>
> <http://users.myepath.com/mrmusky/Howard2.jpg>