‘Fish of a lifetime’: Brockville angler lands large muskie off Sanddocks Park
What began as a relaxing Saturday afternoon at Sanddocks Park in Brockville quickly turned into a potentially once-in-a-lifetime fishing moment for local angler Lucas Haystead this past weekend.
On June 21, Haystead, 22, was casting from the Thomas Street park shoreline while a friend tanned nearby; he had no idea he was about to hook what may be the biggest fish of his life – a large muskie estimated at up to 48 inches long and 35 pounds.
“I think it’s probably one of the coolest and most emotional experiences I’ve ever had,” Haystead told Brockvilleist. “I’ve been telling everyone start to finish how I caught it — whoever will listen.”
Haystead said he was originally fishing for bass, which opened for the season that day, but wasn’t having much luck until he changed tactics.
“After about 20 minutes or so of my lures not going deep enough I switched up,” he explained. He tied on a football jig with a skirt and rubber tadpole trailer, a setup he had seen recommended by online fishing creators, and began slowly bouncing it along the bottom.
“I was fishing for about 45 minutes when I felt a good bite and set the hook,” he said. “I didn’t realize until it flashed me on its side that I…realized it was a muskie.”
As the muskie fought back, Haystead called out to his friend for the net and attracted a crowd of onlookers. But landing the fish proved difficult: he was standing on a concrete ledge about six feet above the water with no easy way to bring the fish in.
“I thought, ‘I got to get in the water,’” Haystead recalled. So he climbed down into the river, cutting his toe in the process, and waded into thigh-high water over slippery rocks.
After several attempts, he was able to get the muskie’s head into the net, but its tail still hung out. “I had to shimmy and shake it about three times to have it fall into the net,” he said. After about eight minutes of fighting, the fish was finally secured — to cheers and applause from the small crowd that had gathered.
“The second the fish was in the net and I didn’t have tension on the line, the hook popped out — which is scary to think about,” he said. “But I also saved my hands from her razor teeth because I didn’t have pliers with me.”
Haystead said he did his best to keep the muskie in the water as much as possible and released it shortly after capturing a few photos and videos. “All the ooos and awes were all the validation I needed to make sure she was good and ready before releasing her and watching her swim off to be another angler’s dream,” he said.
Because he hadn’t expected to hook a fish of that size, Haystead didn’t have a tape measure on hand. However, after posting video of the catch online, he connected with a seasoned muskie angler who reviewed the footage and estimated the fish at 47–48 inches long and roughly 30–35 pounds.
“A fish like that has probably seen a lot of lures and is pretty picky too – it could easily be close to 20 years old,” Haystead said. “Incredible luck, especially when I had a single hook jig fishing for bass.”
He added that he knew there were big muskies in the area – he’s seen them before, including some large specimens drifting beneath docks during the Tall Ships Festival – but never expected to catch one from shore.
“I’ll definitely be out there again soon after another trophy, a little more prepared,” he said.
You can keep up with Lucas’ angling adventures on TikTok and Instagram at @bassinator02.