Angler nearly tips canoe catching huge musky, a 'fish of a lifetime'

Mikhale Pearthree, an avid fisherman from Minneapolis, was fishing from a canoe on Bde Maka Ska when he hooked a “fish of a lifetime” that nearly caused him to capsize his boat.

The 21-year-old landed a 54.5-inch musky from the 401-acre lake, which is two blocks from his house, allowing him to fish three times a week, as reported by FOX 9.

Pearthree hooked the fish around 4:30 p.m. Monday after an hour of fishing.

“I could feel it and it felt like a big fish,” Pearthree told FOX 9. “Once I saw it, I didn’t realize it was quite as big, but once it got closer, I realized it was big.”

Getting the fish into the canoe proved challenging, and dangerous, so he decided against it.

“The canoe almost tipped, and I paddled to shore,” he said.

Unfortunately, by the time he got into shore and finally landed the fish, it was “non-responsive” and Pearthree was unable to release his catch, as he normally would.

“It’s the fish of a lifetime, basically,” Pearthree told FOX 9.

Pearthree’s father, Craig, wasn’t surprised, telling FOX 9 nothing his son does in the fishing world is surprising because he is an expert, adding, “He’s had an interest since he was a young kid and he fishes a lot, and he has a sixth sense.”

Incidentally, if you are curious about the name of the lake, it’s Dakota for White Earth Lake.