Smyrna angler hooks state-record muskie

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Some Maine fishing records are holdovers from another era, and the prospect of them ever being broken are very, very slim.

Take, for instance, the record landlocked salmon: A 22-pound, 8-ounce monster that Edward Blakey of Darien, Conn., hauled out of Sebago Lake back in 1907.

Others may be broken … but you might not want to bet on it. Case-in-point: Hollis Grindle’s 311/2-pound togue, which he winched out of Beech Hill Pond back in ’58.

And other species? Well, they’re new to Maine. And the longer they’re here … the bigger they get. Records on these non-native fish, as you might guess, fall quite regularly.

That’s the category we’ll talk about today, as Kim Masse of Smyrna checked in to tell of his recent fishing success.

Masse headed to Glazier Lake with three others on Feb. 1 to fish for muskellunge. Though they didn’t expect to break a record that day, they certainly knew that big muskies lurked in that lake. The existing state-record muskie came from Glazier, and with Master Maine Guide Alan Albert leading the way, hopes were high.

Muskies were not illegally introduced here, but they migrated to Maine after a Quebec biologist introduced them into Lac Frontiere in 1970. The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife was not informed of the plan, according to published reports. Since Lac Frontiere is the headwater of the St. John River, the muskies eventually made it to Maine, and many anglers target them each winter at a few well-known muskie lakes … including Glazier.

Glazier is a border lake that rests in New Brunswick, as well as in T18, R10.

Masse said in an e-mail that his party expected typically slow muskie fishing, but he noted that the day began successfully.

“Around 9 a.m. Alan had a flag, and he caught a beautiful 13.5-pound muskie. That set the pace,” Masse wrote. “Still waiting patiently, the four of us enjoyed hot coffee and kept a close eye on our traps.

“At around noon, I had a flag go up. Using a 10-inch sucker for bait, I knew it would be a minute or two before the fish would have it in its stomach. Having 450 feet of line on my spool, I was wondering if I would have enough line to handle this fish.”

He did.

“I set the hook and the fight was on. Forty minutes later, with the help of Alan and [another friend], we landed the giant fish.”

Masse took the fish to John’s Country Store in St. Francis, but found out the scale was too small. The next day, he took the muskie to Aroostook Milling Company to have it weighed on their registered scales.

The result: An apparent state-record muskie. Masse’s fish weighed 27 pounds and measured 431/2 inches long. It had a 22-inch girth.

Later this week, Masse e-mailed a follow-up and said DIF&W fisheries biologist Derrick Cote had confirmed that the fish is, indeed, the state record.

For now.

With other big fish lurking in Glazier, Baker and Beau lakes, who knows how long that record will stand.

Bumper sticker of the week: Seen on a Toyota 4Runner in Bangor on Wednesday, a sticker that aptly reflects a state of mind many of us can relate to.

My brain is controlled by fish, the sticker said.

So, DIF&W handed out 15,600 turkey permits yesterday.

I demand a recount … or a total overhaul of the DIF&W computer that’s in charge of lotteries.

More than half of the applicants were successful, and will be hunting turkeys sometime this spring. And me? Well, let’s just say that I need a new infusion of good luck.

You see, somehow (for the second straight year) that computer has skipped me … and given permits (apparently randomly) to plenty of people who will never let me forget it.

Like my brother-in-law, Carl, for instance. And his soon-to-be 11-year-old son, Ryan. Both are heading back afield for the second straight year.

Maybe one of ’em will let me sit around and watch.

If you applied for the turkey lottery, and you still don’t know if you were successful, you can find that information at www.mefishwildlife.com. Just follow the links and you’ll quickly find your name.

Or, if you’re like me … you won’t.

Coming up this weekend: As you may imagine, last Saturday’s column about Cecil Gray ruffled a few feathers

Gray, a Master Maine Guide and hunter, supports the referendum to ban trapping of bears and bear-hunting over bait or with hounds.

Soon after the piece ran, the e-mails began arriving … and they haven’t stopped.

Some readers were reasonable. Some were angry. And at least one was so fired up, he sent me an e-mail rebutting the piece before the column even ran.

This Saturday, I’ll share some of that feedback … and add a few observations of my own.

Also on Saturday, I’ll tell you a story about a Holden woman and her hefty feline visitor. Big cats are out there, and this woman captured a good photo of a cat who thought her driveway was a good place to do a little sunbathing.

John Holyoke can be reached at jholyoke@bangordailynews.net or by calling 990-8214 or 1-800-310-8600.