I've fished for Muskie as well. Wonderful fighting fish. I believe the state record for PA is 57 inches, or roughly around that size, which is quite large.

I used to camp near Lake Gallitizin, where the muskie grow to be enormous. I remember once while on a pontoon boat with a group of friends, we were in the middle of the lake and jumped in to cool off and swim around. In the climax of my tom foolery, I felt something large brush up against me. I looked down and you could make out the outline of a VERY large muskie swim by. Needless to say, for anyone who has seen the teeth on them, I jumped promptly back onto the pontoon boat while my friends all laughed. Now as to how true it is, I cannot attest, but I've heard stories from the old timers up there about people who've had toes and other extremities bitten by a hungry muskie.  I wasn't inclined to verify if the tales were true!

Back to the food topic, does anyone still drink wassail for the Christmas holiday? Another great family memory of the beverage piping hot made by my great-grandmother, who came over from England at 17. The recipe is a family gem several generations old.