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Tom Crann

Angler catches nearly five-foot-long muskie on Mille Lacs

Big muskie catch
Robert Hawkins, owner of Bob Mitchell's Fly Shop in Lake Elmo, caught a 57-inch muskie on Lake Mille Lacs.
Courtesy of Bob Mitchell's Fly Shop

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Lake Mille Lacs may be famous for its walleye fishing, but as Robert Hawkins found out this week, it also holds at least one mammoth 57-inch muskie.

Hawkins, owner of Bob Mitchell's Fly Shop in Lake Elmo, decided to tag along with a couple friends on a Lake Mille Lacs fishing trip.

After about four hours on the water, he got a fish on his line and quickly realized it was a big one.

That's when "a calm panic mode ensued," he recalled.

Hawkins worked quickly to get the fish in the net. "The more time you let them fight the worse it is on the fish," he said. "Those big fish don't put up a giant fight anyways."

After documenting the catch, he released it.

"I would feel awful to kill that fish," Hawkins said. "Just too cool of a thing. It's cool to let that thing live out its life and die naturally."

And he'll have another way to remember the catch. "They make such amazing fiberglass replica mounts," Hawkins said. "They almost look better than the mount with the actual fish. I'm definitely a firm believer in catch and release."