East Toronto angler Dylan Sampson catches rare musky in Lake Ontario waters off Queen’s Quay Harbour

By JOSHUA McGINNIS

“I couldn’t contain myself. The video shows a serious excitement I haven’t felt in a long time. It’s a lifetime catch in the Toronto Harbour,” said Dylan Sampson.

The East Toronto resident got lucky in early December, catching a muskellunge—commonly known as a musky—in Toronto’s Queen’s Quay Harbour. It’s only the second recorded musky catch in the waters of Lake Ontario fronting Toronto in 30 years.

In an extraordinary case of coincidence and skill, Sampson’s brother, Will, also caught a musky in the same area, which made headlines across Ontario. Such a catch is rare due to the challenging conditions of the lake near downtown Toronto.

Rick Portiss, senior manager of aquatic monitoring and management at the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, told CBC in a story two years ago that no muskies had been recorded in the area for over 30 years until Will Sampson’s catch.

This time, Dylan Sampson’s lucky moment was captured on video by local filmmaker Darin Morrison-Beer, who accompanied him on the cold December morning.

The video, which has since garnered over 22,000 views on YouTube, shows a day of fishing, starting early in the morning and ending with the catch.

“It was a surreal moment. I felt like I blinked, and it was over,” said Morrison-Beer. “Filming and netting the fish simultaneously required all my focus. Having just learned about pike and musky that day, I held my tongue when I thought to myself while fumbling with the net: this fish does look a little different than the last two.

“I considered it a real possibility until Dylan started yelling, ‘Is that a musky?’ We joked about catching a musky all morning and talked about how fortunate his brother was to have seen the only documented one in 30 years. When the musky was safely on the boat and Dylan confirmed its species, I was elated to know I had filmed one of two musky catches in the Toronto Harbour”

The musky Sampson caught last month measured 38 inches long, but it was not weighed. After being measured, the fish was released back into the lake by Sampson.

Sampson and his family are long-time East Toronto residents and have a deep connection to fishing.

“I come from a family of fishermen. My dad taught my brothers and me how to fish, and I’m sure I had a fishing rod in my hand by the time I could stand,” said Sampson. “It wasn’t until the past few years that I started taking it more seriously. I began sharpening my skills and targeting specific fish.”

Catching the musky was no easy feat.

Sampson dedicated hours to fishing in Queen’s Quay Harbour, experimenting with new methods, casting more reels, and investing in specialized lures for elusive fish.

“I had to change my gear, upgrade, and put more money into it—getting a proper reel. Then I began landing these big fish instead of losing them. I also started heading to deeper waters and spending more time on the boat,” he explained.

Muskies are known as apex predators and are notoriously difficult to catch. In the fishing community, they have a reputation for putting up a fight before being reeled in. There are even reports of muskies biting swimmers.

“The whole name musky refers angry pike or bad, bad pike. Fishermen say they have an attitude problem, and half the time, they strike things out of anger,” said Sampson.

To watch the video of the catch, visit Darin Morrison-Beer’s YouTube channel by searching his name or typing The Rarest Fish in Toronto into the search bar, or go directly to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo3O6NMxgsQ