Pennsylvania State Record Muskellunge - 1924

[RLeeP]

>>I don't know. I think French has the habitat to do it. It's full of big deep holes and lots of woody debris. On top of that is full of big suckers. I think the Allegheny whether it be Kinzua or the main river probably has the new state record swimming around it but I wouldn't count French out. There were big musky in French long before they transplanted the Tamarack fish. Tamarack was only drawn down as long ago as 1999 for repairs.>>

This is the most accurate thing anybody has said about French Creek on this thread... French Creek has the potential to produce fish of the size under discussion, fish that are really all out of proportion to the size of the stream. It has the habitat and forage base, sections with access difficulties that reduce pressure and a pile of lakes in the drainage with fair to excellent musky fisheries that serve as fish conduits. A few of these are dams (Tamarack, Woodcock, Eaton, etc.) and would not be part of a lake to creek and back loop for the fish, but they are in the minority. I grew up on the upper drainage (above Meadville) and just now ran out of fingers when I tried to count how many open-to-travel musky lakes there are just in my home portion of the watershed.

The access thing is also important, IMO. There is an (approximate) seven or eight mile unbridged or maybe its bridged once, I forget, section from Cambridge Springs up that is one continuous trench and pretty deep in many places. With a few brief exceptions, the only way to access it is via watercraft. I'd be surprised if it sees more than a dozen serious rods a season. And this isn't the only section of the stream that is like that. It just happens to be the one I'm most familiar with.

I wouldn't discount the stream's potential..

 

[JoshM3357]

There is an article from the 40s if I recall about Walkers fish... pretty sure its was in an old PA Angler publication. I also think its in Larry Ramsels book. I will see if I can find it again and post it.

Basically it just Lewis Walker outlining his day on the water when he caught the fish. He states there was another one with the fish he caught that was even larger yet.

EDIT Found it but I have it in pdf format and cant post it here. There were two other fish he claims to have seen that were larger.

 

[Fishidiot]

Another interesting giant muskie story. This beast was caught and released back in the summer along Green Bay WI by a shore angler targeting walleyes. Angler, who apparently wasn't especially familiar with muskies, claims 64 inches.
Judging by the picture, it certainly is an enormous fish and possibly in the reported size range.
Amazing.

Big Muskie