DICK KNUTSON
01-15-2002, 01:21 PM
WELL I HAVE A LITTLE TIME HERE AND THE PREVIOUS POST WAS GETTING A LITTLE LONG SO I WILL START A NEW POST AND TRY TO TELL YOU THE INSIDE STORY OF THE 25LB WALLEYE THAT WAS'NT. DURING OUR MANY EXCURSIONS TO GREERS FERRY IN MY MOTORHOME I ALWAYS HAD A PICTURE OF MARBY HARPER HOLDING HIS 25LB WORLD RECORD WALLEYE HANGING ON THE WALL.ACCORDING TO THE STORY MARBY HAD CAUGHT THE FISH IN OLD HICKORY LAKE IN TENNESSEE. THIS OF COURSE FITS INTO THE PATTERN OF THESE LARGE OZARK WALLEYE THAT SOME CALL THE BLUE WALLEYE. BEFORE THE TVA DAMS WERE BUILT THESE FISH CRUISED THE RIVER SYSTEMS OF THE OZARKS AND WERE TRAPPED IN CERTAIN AREAS AFTER THE DAMS WERE BUILT.ONE MUST ALSO REMEMBER THAT SOUTHERN PEOPLE DID NOT FISH FOR WALLEYE AND THEY USED A TERM( JACK SALMON) TO DESCRIBE WALLEYE . NOT UNTIL FAIRFIELD BAY LOCATED ON GREERS FERRY OFFERED A MILLION DOLLARS TO ANYONE WHO CAUGHT A NEW WORLDS RECORD WALLEYE DID THE LOCAL SOUTHERNERS PERK UP THEIR EARS. WELL GUESS WHAT THE STANDARD FOR THE CONTEST WAS? MARBY HARPERS FISH! SO OVER THE YEARS THAT WE WERE DOWN THERE AND AFTER HANDLING LOTS OF GENUINE WALLEYE OVER 20LBS FROM OUR TEST NETS THE PICTURE HANGING IN MY MOTORHOME BECAME MORE AND MORE INTERESTING TO DR.MURPHY AND ME.THE FISH JUST DID NOT LOOK THAT BIG COMPARED TO WHAT WE HAD BEEN HANDLING! SO OUT CAME THE CALIPERS AND WE ASSUMED SOME THINGS ABOUT MARBYS HANDS AND FINGERS.EVEN FIGURING THAT MARBY WAS A BIG MAN THE CALIPERS TOLD US A DIFFERENT STORY. THE FISH WAS NO WHERE NEAR 25LBS. I CAME BACK TO FARGO AND CALLED MY OLD FRIEND RON LINDNER AND TOLD HIM WHAT WE HAD COME UP WITH AND PERHAPS IN FISHERMAN SHOULD TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE PICTURE OF MARBY AND DO SOME FURTHER MEASUREMENTS AND SEE WHAT THEY THOUGHT. NEEDLESS TO SAY MARBYS FISH WAS DISQUALIFIED AS THE WORLD RECORD WALLEYE. MARBY IS NOT AROUND ANYMORE TO DEFEND HIMSELF AND I FEEL A LITTLE BAD ABOUT HIS BEING DISQUALIFIED WITHOUT HIM BEING ALIVE TO DEFEND HIMSELF AND I AM SURE SOME OF THESE GOOD OLD BOYS USED TO GIGGLE ABOUT FOOLING ALL OF US WITH FISHERMANS LIES AND BECAUSE THE WORLD WAS A LITTLE DIFFERENT BACK THEN WHEN NOTHING WAS TAKEN TO SERIOUSLY.NEVER THE LESS, IN MY OPINION AND DR. MURPHYS, MARBYS FISH WAS NOT OVER 18LBS. IN MY NEXT POST I WILL TELL YOU ABOUT THE $1,000,000 TOURNAMENT AT GREERS FERRY AND THE WORST IT BROUGHT OUT IN PEOPLE AND MORE ABOUT BLUE WALLEYE SO STAY TUNED. DICK KNUTSON GENETRON