Dan Caricaburu-Lundin was fishing Montana’s Ackley Lake on May 20, 2024 in his kayak when he landed what proved to be the new International Game Fish Association’s all-tackle length world record tiger muskie, a cross of muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) and northern pike (Esox lucius). After what Caricaburu describes as a tough fight that almost flipped him, he landed the 45.28-inch (115-centimeter) tiger muskie, which barely fit in his net. Making matters even sweeter, he caught the fish on a custom swimbait he built for just such an occasion.
CUSTOM SWIMBAIT CATCHES RECORD TIGER MUSKIE
“I make big swim baits for bass fishermen. So they kind of go hand in hand with muskie. Big, huge, baits — they just draw the fish a little bit better,” Caricaburu-Lundin tells Wired2fish. In an effort to match the hatch and attract only the biggest fish, Caricaburu-Lundin built a custom Kokanee swimbait. The 8-inch-long, 2.5-ounce model does a good job of imitating the salmon, and getting big fish to eat.
“The muskie are thought to mostly feed on the suckers, and that’s what they were introduced for, to control the sucker populations. But we have this Kokanee salmon population up here, and a lot of people aren’t very aware of it, because FWP doesn’t want people to think that way. But once the bass and the muskie get to a certain size, they’ll go offshore and they’ll feed on Kokanee and trout,” says Caricaburu-Lundin.
PERICOPE DOWN
Having previously worked in the marine electronics industry, Caricaburu-Lundin is a big fan of cutting edge technology. He used Garmin’s LiveScope to spot the fish, which he says helps cut down on the number of casts needed to catch one. But even with the latest electronics, they are a frustrating species.
“Muskie are the most tormenting fish,” says Caricaburu-Lundin. “I’ve had days where I’ll catch a couple of them and then just nothing for weeks on end. It’s wild.”
He started to get them dialed in when he was stationed in Castle, Montana about 10 or 12 years ago. There was a small lake with tiger muskie up there, and that’s where he learned about the fish. Caricaburu-Lundin beat that lake up throwing bass stuff, learning as he went. That knowledge, combined with his custom swimbaits, help him score with greater regularity these days.
FACEBOOK SHENANIGANS
“This was the first fish that I caught on that bait, and it was a real fish. You know, it was pretty cool,” Caricaburu says
Right before he caught the record tiger muskie, Caricaburu-Lundin posted a picture of the Kokanee swimbait and an IGFA measuring device on his Facebook page with a caption stating , “I’m not looking for a fish today; I’m looking for ‘the fish.’”
Those words rung true, though Caricaburu-Lundin says his friends give him a hard time about it. “They think I caught that fish, measured it, and knew I had the record. Then I made that post. But that’s not how it happened.”
The new IGFA all-tackle length record muskie was certified on August 18, 2024, and it edges out the previous one by about 6 inches. That fish, a 39.37-inch (100-centimeter) specimen, was caught in Blue Water Reservoir, New Mexico by Joshua Daniels in 2022. IGFA’s all-tackle weight record is 51 pounds, 3 ounces, caught by John Knobla at Lac Vieux-Desert, Michigan on July 16, 1919.
MULTI-SPECIES ANGLER
Caricaburu-Lundin grew up in Montana. His dad took him to Lake Francis, where they used to cast spoons in tall, leafy weeds for pike. This is probably where he got his love for toothy predators, but he fishes for a wide variety of fish, including largemouths.
“My wife is a traveling nurse, so we travel all over the country. So I fish for everything. I was in the Navy, so I fished saltwater. We lived in Key West for a while, so I fished everything out there,” says Caricaburu-Lundin. “We’re actually Alaska residents now, so I love halibut and all that stuff too. But there’s something about muskie, pike, barracuda and all of those toothy critters that are pretty fun, you know?”
FAMILY AFFAIR
Records run in the family for the Caricaburu-Lundins. His wife just caught what should prove to be the Kokanee salmon length record as well. The record is pending right now, so we’ll check back with them on that.
“I made the Kokanee bait, we looked up what the record was, and we went out there and tried to put a big number on it. So it was kind of cool.”
