Preparation for the Bassmaster event on the Susquehanna River got painful for Kristine Fischer. The professional angler was out for the river’s famed smallmouth and became ecstatic to find a muskie at the end of her line. After fighting the fish, Fischer was removing a tough hook when the muskie lunged to sink its teeth into her knee.
Muskie sinks its teeth into pro angler
Fischer remained calm and continued to hold the muskie. She worked to pry it from her without causing more damage to her leg or the fish. Once its jaws were removed, she got grinning hero shot—bloody knee and all.
“It freaking inhaled a wake bait,” Fischer expressed in a video following the incident. In the video, the angler went on to show us her bloody knee. There are multiple gouges and perhaps a tooth still in her kneecap.
An adult muskie can have 500 to 700 razor-sharp teeth. Fischer is no stranger to handling these fish, but she shared this was the first time she’d had one bite her. Muskie bites happen but are rare. Of course, the risk of occurrence is increased when provoked. What could be worse than the bite itself is the risk of infection.
“Glad I acted like a somewhat responsible adult, and got off the water to clean out the wounds,” Fischer shared in the caption of another video showing the muskie incident. “My last major musky mishap, I wrapped a piece of my shirt around my fingers and kept musky fishing.”
The wounded knee wouldn’t slow Fischer down in the weekend’s bass tournament. Fischer finished second in a field of more than 150 anglers at the 2024 Yamaha Rightwaters Bassmaster Kayak Series at the Susquehanna River.
