The Wisconsin Albino Muskie

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Paul Parise was muskie fishing with a buddy near Ladysmith, WI when he hooked into a 51-inch albino muskie. He didn't know it then, but he had landed what could become the world-record white muskie.

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Parise was jigging a bull dawg over a 10-foot deep hole when the big fish hit. It made a few hard runs before Parise was able to bring it up to the boat.

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"She made a couple runs and I saw the fish was a different color and I was like what the hell is that?" says Parise, who is a muskie fishing guide in Wisconsin.

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After taking measurements and snapping a few quick photos, Parise released the fish. His photos were examined by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and ruled ligitimate.

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Albino muskies are extremely rare. A few smaller ones have been seen and caught, but neither Parise nor the Wisconsin DNR has found a large albino muskie on record. Parise has muskie fished in the area for 13 years and has never seen another albino muskie. Some experts postulate that it's amazing for the fish to have grown so large since muskies typically ambush their prey. They use their camoflauge to turn almost invisible in cover.

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Parise's hypothesis is that the fish was able to thrive by staying in deeper, dark murky water, where any sort of color is minimized. Muskies do have a variety of different color phases, like the barred phase pictured here. Photo: MN DNR