User:Billybumbler77/Louis Spray

Louis Spray is the current all-tackle world record holder for the muskellunge (Esox Masquinongy). Caught on October 20, 1949, on the Chippewa Flowage in Hayward, WI, "Chin-Whiskered Charlie" measured 63.5" and weighed in at 69 lbs. 11 oz.

There is much speculation that Spray made falsified claims about his world record musky and that both the length and the weight of the fish have been exaggerated. Subsequent inquiries into the veracity of this catch have been heard and largely ignored by the record keeping body, the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame (NFFHF).

The previous titleholder, Art Lawton, was disqualified after investigations proved that the weight of his 69 lb. 15 oz. St. Lawrence River musky was falsified and had been increased by inserting foreign objects into the fish. It was also found that Lawton had claimed two different weights for the same fish, one claim being the then-accepted world record. The same allegations are being levelled at Spray's record fish, and there is some relevant evidence supporting these ideas. Unfortunately most of the original evidence is gone, as the mount of the record musky was destroyed in a fire and Louis Spray himself has passed away. All that remains are a few pictures and numerous affadavits from witnesses involved in the catching, weighing and mounting of the fish.