Potential World Record Musky
- Thread starter jimmyj
- Start date
dirty_harry
New member
I would love to tie into that!
Wow, awesome catch. It's nice to see the water there cleaning up enough for muskies since the water quality dark ages of the 60's and 70's. I still wouldn't eat it though, and still a ways to go water quality wise I'm afraid. I wish muskies would develop a taste for zebra mussels.
When I was a kid, I had musky fever fairly bad. I fished whenever I got the chance and loved to read fish stories. Most of my life I was led to believe that the (official hook and line) world record musky was caught in New York, and the Wisconsin musky was second place. Now, after a death bed confession revealed the New York catch to be a hoax, the record is back in Wisconsin. An interesting example of how things aren't always what they seem, and recorded history isn't always the truth.
Speaking of records, does anyone know the story of the monster musky hanging in one of the bars in Hayward? Now just about every bar in Hayward has a record musky of some kind, but this one was supposedly 110 pounds. One story was that it was found dead, another was that it was speared, and another said that it was netted. It looked real to me. if so, it makes you wonder how large these things can get. It's best to be careful when skinny dipping, that is for sure.
When I was a kid, I had musky fever fairly bad. I fished whenever I got the chance and loved to read fish stories. Most of my life I was led to believe that the (official hook and line) world record musky was caught in New York, and the Wisconsin musky was second place. Now, after a death bed confession revealed the New York catch to be a hoax, the record is back in Wisconsin. An interesting example of how things aren't always what they seem, and recorded history isn't always the truth.
Speaking of records, does anyone know the story of the monster musky hanging in one of the bars in Hayward? Now just about every bar in Hayward has a record musky of some kind, but this one was supposedly 110 pounds. One story was that it was found dead, another was that it was speared, and another said that it was netted. It looked real to me. if so, it makes you wonder how large these things can get. It's best to be careful when skinny dipping, that is for sure.
misty_pines
Member
I went to the Hayward Fishing Hall of fame about 2 years ago and while there also visited The Moccasin Bar in Hayward (which has the mount of the supposed World Record Musky) and indicated to weigh 67-1/2 lb and was caught by Cal Johnson in 1949. According to the official DNR records, the world record Muskie was caught by Louie Spray on 10/20/49 in WI and it weighed 69 lbs, 11 oz. I've never heard of a reported 110 lb musky at a bar in Hayward? What bar is this at? The only reference to a 110 lbs musky (which was a fake) I could find on the internet was the following quoted from this website: http://www.larryramsell.com/DOCS/Do Muskies get that big.pdf.
"Another fun reference to huge muskies of the past, a supposed 110 pound Musky from the Torch River, Michigan actually turned out to be a 54 pound musky that had been speared and then a local photographer combined photo's of that fish and two different men standing with their arm outstretched to produce a 7 foot 4 inch monster."
I read the story about the Green Bay Musky referred to at the start of this thread. The fella that caught it threw it back without measuring it. In looking at the pics, reading the story and watching the interview a bait shop owner had with the guy that caught it, it was no doubt a huge Musky, but I didn't think it would have been close to a world records at over 69 lbs. I thought it could have maybe been 50 lbs, but not close to 70 from what I could tell.
My brother caught a 52" Musky last year that weighed a bit over 30 lbs. That thing was a beast. I couldn't imagine one that would be over double that size.
"Another fun reference to huge muskies of the past, a supposed 110 pound Musky from the Torch River, Michigan actually turned out to be a 54 pound musky that had been speared and then a local photographer combined photo's of that fish and two different men standing with their arm outstretched to produce a 7 foot 4 inch monster."
I read the story about the Green Bay Musky referred to at the start of this thread. The fella that caught it threw it back without measuring it. In looking at the pics, reading the story and watching the interview a bait shop owner had with the guy that caught it, it was no doubt a huge Musky, but I didn't think it would have been close to a world records at over 69 lbs. I thought it could have maybe been 50 lbs, but not close to 70 from what I could tell.
My brother caught a 52" Musky last year that weighed a bit over 30 lbs. That thing was a beast. I couldn't imagine one that would be over double that size.
I've seen the trophy at the Moccasin. It might have been the record before the Spray musky was caught on the Chippewa. I'm not sure what to believe anymore as some experts are now skeptical of many of these old record fish. I saw the world record tiger musky at the King's Gateway in Land O' Lakes many years ago. They're all pretty awesome trophies regardless.
The big thing now is to photograph and release big muskies and have replica's made for trophies. I had a replica of a king salmon I caught made by Rich Lax of Conover which was real nice since we ate the fish and I still got a trophy out of the deal. That fish was only in the 20 some pound range so still good eating for salmon anyway. The really big muskies are not considered good to eat. They are saying now that no muskies should be eaten anymore, and I can respect that, but I do remember some tasty ones back in the day. They used to feature baked muskies stuffed with wild rice at the Boulder Junction musky jamboree many years ago. Yum.
I could be wrong about the alleged size on that non hook and line trophy I saw in Hayward, but I know it was supposed to be at least 70 pounds. I don't think it was at Angler's or at the Moccasin. I will try to find it the next time I'm down that way.
The big thing now is to photograph and release big muskies and have replica's made for trophies. I had a replica of a king salmon I caught made by Rich Lax of Conover which was real nice since we ate the fish and I still got a trophy out of the deal. That fish was only in the 20 some pound range so still good eating for salmon anyway. The really big muskies are not considered good to eat. They are saying now that no muskies should be eaten anymore, and I can respect that, but I do remember some tasty ones back in the day. They used to feature baked muskies stuffed with wild rice at the Boulder Junction musky jamboree many years ago. Yum.
I could be wrong about the alleged size on that non hook and line trophy I saw in Hayward, but I know it was supposed to be at least 70 pounds. I don't think it was at Angler's or at the Moccasin. I will try to find it the next time I'm down that way.
Nice. I'd like to get back there some day. Personally, I have no problem with harvesting and eating fish and game of various kinds as long as it is done with respect to the animal and the resource is sustainable.
momoney2123
New member
In my opinion its a terrible idea to harvest musky which have taken 10-20 years or even more to get as large as they are. Also there just isn't very many in the lake in comparison to other species. And it isn't as good as eating as northern, walleye, bass, or the best yet pan fish. It was acceptable back "in the day" but is just plain ignorance now. Unlike our ancestors we are educated on the benefits of C & R. Killing a 20 year old musky just to eat is sickening to me. Lot of people still do it in Wisconsin and is why in my opinion Wisconsin isn't the musky fishery it used to be or the fishery that Minn and Ontario are now. Smaller size limits allow people to continue to eat the musky. Let em go and eat northern if your looking to put food on the table. don't mean to offend anyone who eats musky, just think its dumb to say the least.
I really don't fish that seriously anymore, so the muskies are fairly safe from me these days. I only caught northerns this year all of which I released by the way. Even though this is now one of the best times of the year to fish I now have other interests that take priority. I understand the views of those that believe musky fishing should be catch and release only to keep the numbers of potential trophy sized fish up for sport fisherman. But do hooked and released fish always survive? Barbless hooks might be a good idea. Of course the safest thing for the musky is to not even fish at all like the PETA people say. A little drastic if you ask me. I also wonder if sometimes the reason fisherman aren't always successful is something other than a depleted fishery. I suspect that many trophy sized and even potential "world record" muskies die of old age and are eaten by turtles having never even seen a lure. Maybe not in same of the smaller lakes in Wisconsin that get heavy fishing pressure during the peak of the season, but sunny midsummer vacation days are seldom the best time to catch monster muskies compared to fall fishing or even early ice fishing when everyone is hunting or tuning up there snowmachines. That's when some incredible catches have occurred over the years.
I wonder how many people realize that muskies exist in Lake Superior although not as common as northern pike. They can occasionally be caught in small shallow bays within the larger bays but there is a lot of water out there to cover. Trust me on this, a northern or musky from Lake Superior is incredible eating. But salmon are my personal favorite fish to eat and a big king salmon caught in shallow (20-25') water will fight like a musky with powerful runs and acrobatic jumps! I remember Al Lindner saying years ago that you could take all the musky fisherman in the world and put them in Georgian Bay (northern Lake Huron) and they wouldn't even see each other. He also said that was a likely place for the next record fish to come from. Maybe the Green Bay catch is a sign of things to come. But you have to get out there to the right place and at right time with the right presentation and then get lucky. Otherwise: catch, release, photograph, mount, replicate, eat, is all irrelevant because no one will ever even know the fish existed.
I wonder how many people realize that muskies exist in Lake Superior although not as common as northern pike. They can occasionally be caught in small shallow bays within the larger bays but there is a lot of water out there to cover. Trust me on this, a northern or musky from Lake Superior is incredible eating. But salmon are my personal favorite fish to eat and a big king salmon caught in shallow (20-25') water will fight like a musky with powerful runs and acrobatic jumps! I remember Al Lindner saying years ago that you could take all the musky fisherman in the world and put them in Georgian Bay (northern Lake Huron) and they wouldn't even see each other. He also said that was a likely place for the next record fish to come from. Maybe the Green Bay catch is a sign of things to come. But you have to get out there to the right place and at right time with the right presentation and then get lucky. Otherwise: catch, release, photograph, mount, replicate, eat, is all irrelevant because no one will ever even know the fish existed.