04/18/2026
Luke King, 27, woke up early on a Saturday morning in West Virginia. He headed to a shoreline spot on the Little Kanawha River, just two miles from his home. He had been fishing this river since he was nine years old. He caught his first muskie there. He knew the water well.
He made a long cast across the 100 foot wide river with a hard plastic glide bait. He started retrieving. Then he felt some weight. Not a hard strike. Just weight. He set the hook. The fish stayed deep, bull do***ng in the mid depths. The water was only 44 degrees. That likely slowed the fight.
When he pulled the fish close, he knew it was a giant. He had caught plenty of muskies over 50 inches. This one was heavy. He called a friend who knew some DNR officers. One arrived with a measuring board and a scale. The fish measured 55 and 1/16 inches long with a 27 inch girth. It weighed 51 pounds.
That is the new West Virginia state record for muskie. But the best part? Luke kept the fish alive in a specially aerated tank. Then he released it back into the river unharmed. He said this was all about the fish.
He was going to release it alive and well. A record catch. A clean release. A true sportsman. From the shore. With a story that will last forever.
