'It's like birth!' Fisherman struggles to pull massive fish through hole in the ice when he hooks a 54-inch whopper
Fisherman managed to hook a 54-inch Muskellunge at Mille Lacs lake, Minnesota
Footage shows the man pulling the pike from inside a frozen hole with his hands
He tells his friends to 'give me a tape measure' and how he will put it back in the wild
This is the moment a fisherman who struggled to pull a giant fish through a hole in the ice manages to hook a staggering 54-inch pike.
Footage shows a keen angler dangling a line inside a frozen hole at Mille Lacs lake, Minnesota.
The hook suddenly tightens as though he's secured a fish from within the hidden depths below.
One of his friends crouches next to him before trying to put his hand inside.
The fisherman gradually pulls the line, which appears to show a fish splashing in the water.
He puts his hand inside to try and encourage the pike to the water's surface.
He tells the group 'she's huge' as he is handed a metal rod to tease it to land.
People can be heard screaming as the fish's head pokes above the surface and splashes, in the clip from February 22.
Seconds later, the fisherman plunges his hand into the water and tries to cling on to the fish.
He doesn't hold back as he grips on to the animal's face and yanks its body on to the icy land.
The angler quickly jumps to his feet to steady his catch and drags it on to the ice - as the group erupts into cheering.
One of the spectators says 'give me a tape measure, please' while another adds how 'it's like a birth'.
The fisherman tells them 'if you're not going to eat it, you've got to let it go' and another agrees 'you've got to let it go, regardless'.
As the fisherman kneels down to the monster-size fish, he continues to ask if anyone has a tape measure as he desperately wants to document his big catch.
The spectators conclude it's a 'giant muskie' - short for Muskellunge.
This large solitary fish is native to north America and is around 37.4 inches long.
They can reach speeds of 30 miles per hour and live for as long as 30 years.
The largest, world-beating Muskellunge, weighing 65 pounds, was caught by Cal Johnson at Lake Court Oreilles near Hayward, Wisconsin, in 1949.
