Record Chaser teams up with local fishing legend to catch the pending world record Muskie

Traveling angler and world record hunter Art Weston is back in Minnesota, teaming up with local muskie legend Nolan Sprengeler to find the fish of 10,000 casts. On Tuesday, just before midnight, Weston caught and released a true Lake Mille Lacs monster. The 57.5-inch muskie should set a new world record for all-time tackles in the length division.

Weston, who already has 39 world records to his namecontacted Outdoor living about his upcoming world record catch after submitting the required information to the International Game Fish Association on October 30. He says he traveled to Minnesota specifically to fish with Nolan Sprengeler, who has become somewhat of a local legend after breaking the state rules muskie record in 2021. (Sprengeler also caught his state record muskie from Lake Mille Lacs, but no of both anglers understandably wanted to share details about where exactly they hooked Weston’s soon-to-be record muskie on Tuesday evening.)

“Nolan and I talked about this before I booked [him as my guide]and our plan was to try and get the record for all tackles,” Weston said. “Nolan is very concerned about the welfare of muskies, and he liked that we don’t have to weigh on land for the length record.”

In other words, he explains, they didn’t want to kill a giant muskie, one of the angling world’s most sought-after trophy fish. IGFA regulations for length records allow anglers to quickly release a fish after it has been measured, documented and photographed.

Weston says he met with Sprengeler on Monday. He had decided that their best chance of catching a monster would be at night, so they headed to Lake Mille Lacs that evening. No potential records were set, but Weston got a crash course in night fishing for giants.

“The reason for going out at night is that the largest muskies are the most shy of lures, either because they have been caught before or because they are smart enough to recognize a lure,” Weston explains. “Having never fished overnight before, it was a wild experience. We cast this huge lure into the darkness and the depths [was] a bit nerve-wracking.”

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Weston was ready for round two the next night and they hit the water around 6:30 pm. They fished hard for hours, cycling through Sprengeler’s favorite spots, and Weston finally made contact with the fish they were looking for just before midnight. The muskie hammered his Bondy Royal Orba lure 30 meters from the boat.

“It was like a Mack truck took my bait and went the opposite direction,” Weston says. ‘I think I sounded a beep ‘Oof’ sounded when it struck.”

Weston says the nerve-wracking battle that ensued was very different from other record fish he has caught. Instead of playing the muskie and wearing him down, Sprengeler’s strategy was to let Weston turn the monster in as quickly as possible. He used a stiff, 9 feet 3 inches Thorn brothers Stealth rod and an Abu Garcia Revo reel at maximum drag.

“It was all about the chance of success because the more time you let the fish fight, the more likely it is to come off,” Weston explains. “I did as I was told, just reeled in as hard and fast as I could, never ‘pumping’ the rod, just a straight reel under tremendous drag.”

Sprengeler, meanwhile, stood ready with the landing net and quickly scooped up the giant muskie. Weston thinks the entire fight lasted less than a minute, although Sprengeler told him it was closer to 30 seconds.

“We looked at each other and I said, ‘It’s long!’ and of course Nolan said, “I know!” … and then he said, ‘I think it’s him.’”

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Sprengeler held the massive female muskie while Weston taped him down, his IGFA-approved measuring instrument flat on the boat’s deck. They recorded a total length of 57.5 inches to the tip of the fish’s tail and 54.33 inches (138 centimeters) to the fork of its tail, which should be just enough to replace the standing world record. IGFA requires a minimum increase of 2 cm for a new record, and the current world record for all tackles is a muskie of 135 centimeters that was caught in New York.

Working as quickly as possible, they took a few photos of Weston holding the fish out of the water. Sprengeler then revived the muskie, held it upright and let it rest for a few minutes before releasing it.

“She swam at the surface for a few seconds, then put her head down and disappeared to live her best life.”

Weston says he is confident the muskie will break the world record, and he expects to hear from IGFA in about 60 days. If approved, it will be Weston’s 79th record in the IGFA book. About half of those plates have been replaced over the years, but 38 are still standing. This includes an alligator gar weighing more than 283 pounds that he caught in Texas, which is probably the heaviest freshwater fish ever landed in a 6-pound test.