The Amish like to march to the beat of their own drum… even if it means upsetting the fishing community.
While the rest of us are living in 2026, the Amish are living like it’s the 1800s. They don’t have electricity, they don’t drive cars, and they don’t use the internet. Some of you might be gasping reading that, but rest assured, the Amish get by just fine. It’s believed that there more than 400,000 Amish people living in the United States, with a large majority of them calling Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania home.
This video that’s now going viral is actually out of Pennsylvania, and features a pair of Amish hauling away a massive, 30-plus pound muskellunge (A.K.A. muskie). The large, predatory fish is the largest of the pike family, and are native to North America. They are freshwater fish that are commonly found in rivers, lakes, and evidently, on the backs of Amish people:
@demonoutdoors We did not record this, but it is going around locally.. what’s yours thoughts??? #fishtok #musky #muskyfishing #feedingtime ♬ original sound – Demon Outdoors
Why has that video gotten so much attention (over one million views) online? There’s a couple of factors at play, actually.
First off… that muskie looks massive. We don’t know exactly how tall the Amish man is that’s carrying it, but the fish is thrown over his shoulder and it nearly stretches the entire length of the man’s body. You can tell that it weighed a good amount too, because the Amish angler is struggling a bit to carry it.
Secondly, muskie aren’t the most commonly eaten fish in the world. To be clear, they’re edible, but they just aren’t often found on the menu. That’s mainly because of population issues. It takes a muskie quite a long time (over 10 years usually) to reach it’s reproductive years, and taking one out of its habitat can drastically affect muskie numbers. For the most part, they are catch and release fish. They’re nicknamed the “fish of 10,000” casts because they’re elusive, especially a beast like the one he caught. Most muskie anglers have a certain reverence for the species… take a picture and release. Maybe get a replica made if you have a true trophy.
But no one told these Amish guys that… and crazily enough, they were caught on camera again later that day walking down the road with their catch. You can hear the man hauling the fish guess that it’s around 30 to 40 pounds:
@demonoutdoors Part 2 of the GIANT MUSKY taken from PA River #fishtok #musky #muskyfishing #feedingtime ♬ original sound – Demon Outdoors
That’s on its way to being the “catch of the day,” I suppose?
There are a number of anglers online that are upset about the Amish people catching and not releasing the muskie. A number of people doubted they have the proper fishing license, and a number of people were wondering about the laws for keeping a fish like that… it looks like any muskie can be taken over 40 inches (1 per day) so they may be all good there. But I suppose the good news for the Amish people? They aren’t going to see the negative comments anyways.
