Ice fishermen were in their glory after the above fish made it's way through social media yesterday. It's a 52.25 inch, 45.03 pound, 27 inch girthed muskellunge taken through the ice on Greenwood Lake. But, like other tournament and record setting fish, this comes with speculation from the naysayers and conspiracy theorists.
Why? Well Greenwood Lake is a border water body of water that is split by the state lines of New York and New Jersey. When it comes to state records, of course, it matters where the fish was caught, and that could be where the controversy comes into play. Let's say you left the Atlantic Highlands Marina and headed out to the Ambrose Channel, on the New York side. You throw out a BEAST Fleye because the bass are up on bunker and you land a 100 pound obvious World Record striped bass. Now, truth be told, you couldn't harvest that fish because it's out side of the 28-31 inch slot, but you get the idea. And you return back to the New Jersey marina with your catch. Is it a New York or New Jersey fish?
It should be an easy question and answer, "Hey bud, where did you catch that?", easy, "Over there". Does it really matter? Well, if you're looking for a state record then it does. New Jersey's record muskellunge comes in at 43 pounds 13 ounces caught back in 1997. New York's record fish came in at 69 pounds 15 ounces caught in 1957. So, it's a new state record on one side of the line and just a nice fish on the other.
According to the NJ DEP stocking reports in 2025 they released 3,000 muskies totaling 600 pounds with an average length of 10 inches weighing just under five pounds into Greenwood Lake. According to the stocking list for New York the NY DEC doesn't list Greenwood Lake as a body that receives stocked fish. So?, is it a Jersey fish then? Of the waters NY stocks it's mostly tiger muskies, which is a hybrid between a true muskellunge and northern pike.
And of course the angler, Victor Gelman, is getting skewered for keeping the record fish. In later reports Gelman states he wanted to release the fish but it was gut hooked after eating a 10 inch chub that was used for bait. While I don't doubt the guy was fishing legally I did look over the New Jersey regulations since I wasn't familiar with mucky rules. Of course the interpretation of the laws always calls for a double take, but it looks like one fish on Greenwood Lake over 44 inches. Most diehard muskie anglers play catch and release when fishing for these toothy and bony predators.
Amazingly, New York has similar regulations for muskies on the border water that is Greenwood Lake with one fish daily over 44 inches. That season is open all year long. I'm not
sure if freshwater fishing licenses are reciprocal on border waters like they are on the Delaware River. If not, the angler would have to be dually licensed, or weigh and record that fish in the state where he holds his current license.
I'm not familiar with muskie fishing or the fish themselves but I did find out there are two different New Jersey records, one for true muskellunge and one for tiger muskellunge. I'm not sure but the back end of the above fish looks a little tiger-like. You can see those records below,
So time will tell before it's recorded as a state record, well that's if it's a Jersey fish. Otherwise the guy may get a "Great Catch" hat from the NY DEC. One thing is for sure that must have been a big hole in the ice to pull that beast out of. I wonder if he was using one of those light
tip-up rods you commonly see anglers using while out on the frozen lakes. Forget the fish story I'd love to see that video.