Kathy Starry's two young sons, Brad, 13, and Tyler, 10, had a pretty unique encounter while fishing on their grandma's Minnesota lake dock— a fair-sized muskie came swimming right up to them with a wriggling muskrat clenched tightly in its mouth. Now, muskies eating other mammals isn't much of a surprise. These voracious fish will go after anything from mice to frogs and ducklings. However, catching the moment on video is truly incredible, something those boys and their mother will remember for years to come.
Thankfully for us, they shared the video on social media, so the world could be just as astonished as they were. The jaw-dropping footage was viewed over 1.2 million times as people all over watched this poor unsuspecting muskrat get pulled through the water by a fish.
The video opens up with the boys watching a large muskie swim in the water at the edge of their grandmother's dock. The boys are chattering excitedly in the background, as they continue to film. Momentarily, the fish disappears under the dock. Expecting him to pop out the other side, the boys shift the camera. But, the fish never makes it out on the opposite side.
Instead, he doubles back, now carrying a muskrat in his mouth. The poor muskrat struggles against the fish, getting pulled under the water. A couple of times, you see him get his head above the surface.
Unfortunately, the film cut off before we could see the fate that lay ahead for the rodent. I'm sure the opportunistic fish devoted him whole. But who knows! He could have been a scrappy little guy who made an unlikely escape.
He certainly was giving the muskie a run for its money in the footage. However, if you've ever hooked a muskie before, you're probably well aware that as difficult as they are to entice, once they bite down on something, very seldom do they ever let go. The rodent was foolish enough to get into the water with a muskie, after all.
Muskies are fearless when going after prey. Young muskies will even nab fish larger than them, according to the University of Michigan's Muskie Critter Catalogue entry. The University wrote that the young fish hunt by "grabbing the prey by the head and swimming around with the tail sticking out of their mouth until they digest enough to swallow the rest of the unfortunate victim." An odd sight to see, for sure. Though, the muskie with a muskrat may take the cake.
While these boys were hoping to catch a fish, they captured something far more valuable and made some memories while doing it. It just goes to show that you never really know what is going to happen on a fishing adventure. Always be prepared for the unexpected, like a fish eating a rodent.
