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When David Ramm hooked the big muskie on Crane Lake, he wanted to make sure his dad got to see it. “I knew this was a fish of a lifetime,” said Ramm, 36, of Blue Grass Iowa. “I said, look at her in case she gets off. I want you to see how big this fish is. He said, Oh, my god”. He was fishing with his dad, Gary Ramm, 74, of Davenport, Iowa, when he caught and released the big muskie on Sept. 11. Crane Lake is known more for its walleyes, crappies and northern pike. No muskies have been stocked in the lake. The fish measured 58 1/2 inches long with a 28 inch girth, David Ramm said.

A muskie of that size is almost unheard of in northern Minnesota. “The biggest we’ve ever measured on Lake Vermilion is 55.6 inches,” said Duane Williams, DNR large lake specialist at Tower, “I hear reports of 56 or 57 inches on Lake Vermilion that are probably fairly credible.” The DNR’s International Falls fisheries team surveyed muskies on Crane Lake in 2008 and 2009, Said Tom Burri, DNR assistant area fisheries supervisor at International Falls. DNR crews caught and released just four muskies up to 50 1/2 inches long, Burri said. But reports of big muskies have been increasing on Crane Lake in recent years.

The theory is that some of Lake Vermilion’s muskies slip over the spillway at the Lake Vermilion dam and make the 40 mile trip down the Vermilion River to Crane Lake. The DNR’s Williams and Burri both say they believe that’s how Crane Lake gets its muskies. Although this large muskie could have been a new state record, Ramm released the fish. He plans to have a replica mount made of the fish. This is from the Duluth News Tribune.