View Full Version : World Record Musky?
I was checking the internet, Hayward,WI and Cedar Island Lodge (Pipestone Lake, Ontario)both claim to be home of the world record musky. What gives?
I was checking the internet, Hayward,WI and Cedar Island Lodge (Pipestone Lake, Ontario)both claim to be home of the world record musky. What gives?
I thought the world record came from the St Lawrence and the Ontario record from Blackstone Harbor near Georgian Bay? I told my wife if I'm gonna break one of these records I'm gonna need a bigger boat.
I believe the "St. Lawrence" fish you're referring to is a purported 69 lb. 15 oz. musky caught by Arthur Lawton in 1957. This fish stood as the recognized world record for many years, but in the 1990s was proven a fake. Louis Spray's well-documented 69 lb., 11 oz. musky from the Chippewa Flowage was reinstated as #1 and currently stands as the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame world record holder. However, IGFA refuses to recognize Spray's fish because he shot it, even though this practice was commonplace and legal in 1949.
A couple years ago, while fishing The Chip, I caught a musky from the exact spot where Spray caught the world record. The location was verified for me by John Detloff, owner of Indian Trail Resort, where I was staying. The spot is on the side of an island only a few hundred yards from Indian Trail's dock. There is an old Indian cemetery on the island. In 1949, there was a log jam in that spot, and Spray's fish came out from under the log jam and took a live sucker. Spray had seen that fish and been trying to catch it for several months.
Spray caught three 60 lb. class muskies in his lifetime. All were witnessed, photographed, and well documented, and there is no serious dispute about the size and weight of these fish, or that they were taken legally. Spray had all three mounted, but the mounts were destroyed when Spray's real estate office burned to the ground.
The only serious contender for Spray's record is a purported 70 lb., 4 oz. fish caught in Wisconsin in 1954. You can see the mount of this fish in the dining room of the Dun Rovin Lodge located on the east shore of the Chippewa Flowage in Wisconsin.
fishstalker
06-26-2005, 11:23 PM
The 70# fish is called the "malo" fish. Don't forget Cal Johnsons 67# fish (the IGFA World ecord) caught from Lac Court Oriells.