“It looked like a big log coming out of the water when I first saw the fish. I think we all were all just waiting for the line to break at anytime,” Barnes told the Detroit Free Press. “Once the fish was in the boat, many high fives, some ‘holy cows,’ and I am sure a swear word or two.”
The record was verified by Patrick Hanchin, a DNR fisheries biologist at the Charlevoix Fisheries Research Station and Conservation Officer Steve Speigl.

The previous state-record Great Lakes muskellunge was caught by Kyle Anderson of Rapid City on Torch Lake in Antrim County on Sept. 27, 2009. That fish weighed 50.5 pounds and measured 56.13 inches.