Iowa Man Catches Big Muskie While Ice Fishing [WATCH]

Mark Harvey defied the odds in a number of ways last weekend when he was able to get a large muskie through the ice while ice fishing.

Mark, a farmer from Goldfield, Iowa, was fishing at Lake Okoboji on Sunday, February 28 when the magical moment happened. According to WHO, he'd just tossed a small perch back into the water when the muskie hit his jig. About a half-hour later, with plenty of help, Mark would pull the fish through the ice to the wonderment of everyone, including the fishing guides that were with him.

The guides are Calvin Grosvenor and his dad, John. It was actually the John Grosvenor 25-inch Eyeconic Fishing ultra-light signature series rod that Mark was using when he caught the fish.

Mark needed some assistance getting the fish through the ice because it was a small eight-inch hole like anyone would use when ice fishing. After repeated unsuccessful attempts to get the muskie to the surface, Calvin laid on the ice, stuck his arm down the hole past nearly two feet of ice, and was able to grab the fish by the gill. He then pulled it through the hole in the ice, according to Lake Okoboji Fishing. It was still attached to the fishing line.

The muskie was out of the water for all of about a minute before it was returned to the lake. That was long enough to take a photo to freeze a memory none of them will ever forget and confirm a story they won't get tired of telling. Even though no one had a scale or tape measure, because they were fishing for panfish after all, they estimate the muskie was more than three-feet long and probably weighed over 15 pounds. A fish caught on a 3-pound test line.

See the story in the video below, courtesy of WHO.