The St. Lawrence has a way of making a musky angler feel very small. You can spend a whole day working good water, then hear about one fish that makes you want to turn the boat around and start again. Two stories connected to Captain Bob Walters and Water Wolf Charters capture that feeling better than most: Derek Balmas's record-setting catch in November 2022, and the enormous fish Walters filmed years earlier. One ended with an official measurement and a release; the other left a question swimming somewhere below the surface.
The afternoon Derek Balmas put a river giant on the board
On November 8, 2022, Derek Balmas was fishing the St. Lawrence River out of Clayton, New York. Balmas, a first mate working with Captain Bob Walters, had been expecting a charter trip. When the client cancelled, the opening became a chance to fish instead of a reason to stay ashore.
That decision turned into the kind of day you cannot plan. Fishing aboard Walters's boat with another friend, Balmas landed a muskellunge that measured 135 centimeters under the International Game Fish Association's length-record rules. That is approximately 53.15 inches. The fish was documented and released, and its catch earned recognition as an IGFA All-Tackle Length world record.
For us, the release is as much a part of the story as the number. A fish like that is not something you replace next season. Getting the measurement, getting the evidence, and getting it back in the water gives a remarkable catch an ending worth celebrating.
There is also something pretty familiar about how the opportunity came together. The calendar changed. They went fishing anyway. No one can promise what will happen when the lines go out, but there is one thing we know: you are not going to catch that fish with the boat sitting at home.
Why the record category matters
Before somebody says they have seen pictures of longer muskies, there is an important detail here. Balmas's 135-centimeter measurement belongs to a specific record category with a specific measuring method. The IGFA length measurement runs from the front of the fish to the fork of the tail, rather than using the longest possible tail-tip measurement an angler might put on a conventional bump board.
Those are not interchangeable numbers. Neither is a length record the same thing as a weighed all-tackle record. We can appreciate the catch without turning it into a claim that no heavier musky, or no fish with a longer total-length measurement, has ever existed.
This is a look back at the record Balmas earned for his 2022 catch, not a claim about who holds every musky record today. The achievement stands on its own. A properly documented river giant, measured under the rules and released alive, does not need a bigger headline to make it impressive.
Before that catch, there was the fish on the camera
Now wind the clock back. In June 2019, a different Walters story was making people look hard at what might be swimming in the St. Lawrence. The footage itself came from the previous summer, in 2018. Walters had filmed a huge musky using a camera attached to a downrigger and believed the fish could be a world-record contender.
His estimate was nearly 70 inches. Let that sink in for a second. Then keep the word estimate right beside it.
That fish was not laid on a measuring board in the event described. An underwater video can show a tremendous animal, but perspective, distance from the lens, and the lack of a controlled measurement prevent us from treating an estimated length as a certified record. Walters's belief about the fish and an official record are two different things.
That does not make the story uninteresting. Quite the opposite. A camera gives us a glimpse into water that usually keeps its secrets. Seeing a huge musky on film is enough to get an angler thinking about the next pass, the next season, and all the fish that never give a boat any sign they are there.
One record, one unanswered question
Put the two events together and you have a better story than simply calling both fish world records. Walters's footage offered a tantalizing look at a fish he believed was extraordinary. Balmas's later catch supplied the measurement, documentation, and recognition that make a record official.
There is no basis for calling them the same fish. They are separate events, years apart, connected by the river and by the people spending time learning it.
That combination is what we love about St. Lawrence musky fishing. There is the practical side: tackle, boat control, preparation, and doing things properly when a fish finally comes aboard. Then there is the part that keeps you wondering what just passed beneath the boat. You need the first part to be ready for the second.
What we take from both stories
Neither story is a shortcut to a trophy. Buying one lure or copying one pass does not guarantee another angler's result. What they do reinforce is the value of time on the water, careful observation, and being ready before anything happens.
Have the net and release tools accessible. Know who is handling the rod and who is handling the fish. Keep a landed musky supported, minimize time out of the water, and make the release the priority rather than stretching a photo session. If you intend to pursue a record, learn the applicable measuring and documentation rules beforehand. The middle of a once-in-a-lifetime catch is a poor time to work out the procedure.
We will take an honest measurement over an inflated fish story every time. We will also never get tired of wondering what the St. Lawrence has not shown us yet.
Want to spend more time thinking through your own river approach? Start with our ebook, The St. Lawrence Musky: A Complete Guide to Hunting Giants on the River, or explore our musky tackle collection. Get prepared, respect the fish, and leave room for the river to surprise you.