View Full Version : Arthur LAwton record?
HEy there, I was driving through Gananoque and saw the former world record of 69 pounds 15 oz. caught by Arthur Lawton. I was wondering why this fish is not the current record holder. What a monster!
thank you
J
MuskieKid
08-02-2002, 07:38 AM
The weights were exagerated. He admitted this later in life from what I've read. Here's some record photos & stories for you:
http://www.geocities.com/toothycritters/giantmuskies.html
I think Lawton died before the records were investigated and overturned, but I could be wrong. Len Hartman was the one who "fessed" up, I think. If you look in back issues of the muskie magazines or read Ramsell's Compendium of Musky Angling History, you can get the "facts".
Roy
Thanks guys. I have seen many large fish and have released a couple myself. The Lawton fish display really blew me away. I will be ggoing by there again this weekend, I will get the lenght and girth of the mount. The belly is just huge...
J
J,
I would be interested in these measurements. I assume that this would be a reproduction? My understanding was that they ate the original.
Roy
MuskieKid
08-03-2002, 12:04 PM
Sorry about that, it was Hartman I was thinking of. Anyway, there are plenty of pictures and stories for you on the link I left. Tom
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MuskieKid
08-03-2002, 07:46 PM
The Lawton fish was disqualified because it was discovered that he had submitted false evidence to Field & Stream (the record-keeping body at the time) supporting his world record Muskie. It was discovered that: the photo he submitted to Field & Stream as being of his 69-pound, 15-ounce Muskie actually was the photo of a much smaller Muskie of 49 1/2 inches and 55 pounds and that the weigh-in affidavit Lawton submitted was false evidence. The principle weight witness recanted his original story. Here's a picture from the newspaper that Bob Piazza posted on a past forum. He obtained it from his gradfather: http://www.toothycritters.com/worldrecord.jpg
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