MILLE LACS -- An angler caught a muskellunge weighing 55 pounds, 14 ounces, from Mille Lacs Lake that the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has certified as a weight-based state record.

The previous record was a 54-pound muskie caught from Lake Winnibigoshish in 1957.

Although news of the fish has spread quickly in the news and social media, a record is not official until the certification process is complete.

Nolan Sprengeler caught the muskie on November 22, with friends Kevin Kray and Zack Skoglund. Their plan was to fish the afternoon until after moonrise, which was about 8:00 p.m. After some delay due to low water and frozen water at accesses, they eventually broke some ice to get Sprengeler’s boat in the water after sunset.

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Sprengeler brought the fish to be weighed on a certified scale with witnesses the next morning, had it identified at a DNR Fisheries office, and then dropped off his catch with a taxidermist.

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