Giant Wisconsin Muskie Sets New State Record: But How Long Before It’s Broken Again?

A Door County Guide With a Trophy Resume

Jeff Van Remortel has been guiding in Door County, Wisconsin for 16 years. Scrolling through the pics on his social media pages and WisconsinMuskyFishingGuide.com site is jaw-dropping. Of course, he has access to some of the most premiere muskie waters in the world, but so do a lot of other anglers who don’t have a collection of photos to match Van Remortel’s. Clearly, he understands big muskie.

The Record Catch on Green Bay

On June 4th Van Remortel shared a boat on Green Bay with longtime client, Mike Jacoby. It had been slow fishing for the past couple days, but Van Remortel knew the moon phase was about to get right that morning, providing a short feeding window he hoped they would capitalize on. And capitalize, they did! At 56-inches long, their catch has now been officially certified as the Wisconsin catch-and-release record for muskie.

It was around 8:30am. The two anglers fished across a large weed flat, casting off opposite sides of the boat to cover water. Jacoby saw a solid 48-inch fish follow his bucktail, but the muskie wouldn’t commit. Van Remortel was encouraging him that at least it was a good sign the fish were active during this moon phase, when he was interrupted by a crushing strike at the end of a long cast with a Musky Innovations Swimmin’ Dawg.

Having caught so many big muskie in his lifetime, Van Remortel had made the decision that if he ever caught one longer than his personal best 55.75-inches, he would go through the process to get it certified. So, he knew the requirements, and was prepared to make sure he documented the catch properly. After some quick photography, the 56-inch monster muskie was released back into Green Bay.

Why This Muskie Record Might Not Last

Van Remortel’s new state record muskie beat the old record by a full 3-inches. But it’s worth noting that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has only been tracking live release records since 2017. How long is this new record likely to stand?

According to Van Remortel himself, maybe not that long. As inconceivable as that may seem, he shared a few stats with me to explain why that may be true. “Just a little over a week ago, on September 11th, my customer, Dave Pasula, caught a 56-inch fish that would have tied my new state record. In fact, we've have had 7 fish in my boat between 55 and 56.25-inches in the past three years.” The 56.25 was from before he had decided to certify any. “But the next time I catch one larger than the state record, I will certainly certify it.”

Musky Academy: See Video of This Record Fish

And if you’re as impressed by Van Remortel’s fishing stats as much as I am, it’s worth noting that he offers a series of online courses at his Musky Academy, where he shares his wealth of knowledge on musky fishing. He let me know that there is video footage of the state record fish being caught and released, along with footage of the second 56-incher caught recently, which will be available to watch in the near future as part of his Musky Academy program.

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