Note that the clothing and holding tool/method is the same in both fresh fish photographs. Over four stories tall and as long as a Boeing 757, it is the biggest thing in a very small town. The Hall painstakingly reconstructed the fish using photos and vital statistics, which every muskie fisherman and woman knew by heart. On your way through McLeod Park in Kenora's harbourfront area, you really can't miss the 12-metre (40-foot) statue of a muskellunge fish that stands proudly in the midst of this tourism hub. But is it a world record fish? Be prepared to be asked to purchase a beer or two while you are there (as I was the last time in) and add to the thousands and thousands of drinks this mount has already been responsible for selling in this bar, even though Johnson supposedly “gave” the mount to the City of Hayward! A door in the tail of the muskie offers visitors entry to its innards. "This is probably our gem," Emmet told us. Chippewa Flowage in Hayward, WI The Quickest Way to Reach Me for Reservations: As I am hearing impaired the best way to contact me is at: muskyjoesresort@gmail.com OR TEXT: 715-558-8849. Plus action trips available in many of Haywards smaller lakes. But he knew the tourism value his record mounts had been for the Hayward area. At that time, Spray was owner and operator of Spray’s Bar (and house of ill repute) on a prime corner in downtown Hayward. P.O. all access apg-wi.com Includes digital access to Ashland Daily Press, Sawyer County Record, Rice Lake Chronotype, Spooner Advocate, and Price … Hayward is located north of Wisconsin near the statue of the great muskie .Hayward is a very quiet town.It is surrounded by forest and lakes.Hayward has a rich history.People came to Hayward, Wisconsin because of its logging business. Seller 99.4% positive. Joe H wrote a review Sep 2020. Head out of town North on I-35. It's packed with 300 motors, several small boats, and smells like a garage. Courtesy of the World Record Muskie Alliance. Shumway Tackle Company. 2020 Fish Ohio Master Angler Pin Trophy Smallmouth Bass Vintage Lure Taxidermy. The evidence is what it is! He declined, not wanting to expose himself to the law and risking arrest. His older brother had passed away a short time previously. The DNR estimates its weight at 55-70 lbs. Man! Lake Hayward is located in the City of Hayward on Hwy 27. Get the thrill of catching a husky Hayward musky. So Spray’s efforts were in vain record wise in 1940, but he still made plenty of “greenback hay” with the fish, “claiming” yet another world record and getting considerable “ink” from the press corps, especially in the Midwest tourism area. In addition, the parts of the WRMA report against the Spray muskies that exactly mirrored some of his Lawton investigation methods, but served to cast doubt on Spray’s fish, were completely ignored by him and the Hall Board and additionally it’s  Executive Director, who went along to appease his bosses and protect his job. Lake Namakagon is located 27 mile drive northeast of Hayward, on … Trophy hunts on The Chippewa Flowage and Lake Namakagon. The silhouette comparison photo was graciously provided by the WRMA. But his older brother took up the challenge anyway and provided Spray with another specimen that could be enhanced to record claim size and weight. Fun decor inside plus plenty of games and TVs providing a sports bar feel. Following Assemblyman Hutnik’s ill-conceived claim on (All rates subject to 5.5% Wisconsin sales tax) The rate for each additional person over two is $50.00, and is not available for musky fishing. The most famous fish in the Hall, a 69-pound 11-ounce muskie, was caught by former bootlegger Louis Spray right here in Hayward in 1949. Seller 99.4% positive. Join Ben Brettingen, In-Depth Outdoors Prostaff and Erik Thue as they fly fish the Hayward area in search of Muskies. When asked why, Dettloff stated, “Because that is the way I want it.”! The giant Muskie in Hayward Wi. Phone: 715-798-3441. It is so highly valued that the State Legislature proclaimed it the official State Fish in 1955. It truly is a shame, but this magnificent mount has contributed to the world record musky confusion. It is this fish that was placed under professional scientific photogrammetric scrutiny and the size proven to be embellished and the mount of the fish modified to record claims for length and girth. Stories, reports and tips on tourist attractions and odd sights in Wisconsin. See more ideas about hayward, hayward wisconsin, wisconsin. C’est  la vie. No doubt in my mind about that." Obviously taxidermy enhancement took place with the 1939 fish as well, both being done by renowned Hayward taxidermist Karl Kahmann, one of the then Hayward “Town Fathers” and former Chicago Field Museum taxidermist. Sep 17, 2015 - Explore Deborah Amery's board "Hayward, WI" on Pinterest. Here is another photo of the fresh Johnson fish, making it look bigger by holding it well out in front of himself. More on National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. Enjoy it, you’ll only be there for a minute. Hayward Wisconsin muskie fishing the Chippewa Flowage with Ty Sennett Musky Guide and Fishing Tackle Service. If the muskie were alive it could swallow a bus -- a bus that would probably be filled with awestruck freshwater fishing fans, over 100,000 of which visit the Hall of Fame every year. The Chippewa Flowage and Lake Namakagon are 2 of Wisconsin's premier trophy muskie waters. The Hayward Lakes Area of Northern Wisconsin welcomes anglers of all ages to fish the over 50,000 acres of glacial lakes and rivers of Sawyer County. With a low camera angle, the fish in front and Johnson leaning back, the fish “appears” to be above Johnson’s head. … $29.95 + shipping. Too many guides are concerned with numbers and sacrifice size to boost their yearly … What better way than to once again produce another world record musky from Hayward’s famed musky waters? In the early 1990’s, John Dettloff, a Chippewa Flowage resort owner and musky guide here, upset the world musky record applecart when he set out to get the then world record musky of Art Lawton, a claimed 69-pound 15-ounce monster from the St. Lawrence River, NY in 1957, disqualified, and get Louie Spray’s 1949 claim reinstated. I will catch a new world record musky this season.”…and he did! 1. But at a mere 51-pounds, it is not nearly as interesting to musky anglers of today as are the past claims of near 60 to near 70-pound muskies.Since I live here, let me make one thing perfectly clear…If you want to pursue muskies in one of the most beautiful and aesthetic settings in the musky world and have a better than average chance of catching one of average size, more so now than in the old days, Hayward, Wisconsin is the place for you…just don’t come here with the idea of catching one of world record class size, regardless of what you believe the current world record to be.Some folks here claim four additional records were caught in the Hayward area, but truth be known, only three of those four were ever sanctioned as world records and that was before their being proven not too long ago to having been falsified! Talk about a stacked deck…Naturally, we both resigned from further volunteer involvement with the Hall. So, knowing the best musky violators in the area, he put out the word that he was in the market for a big one. As Hall board president, he directed the NFWFHF rebuttal of the World Record Muskie Alliance (WRMA) Protest against Spray’s record muskies, involving the entire board, which was/is made up entirely of local businessmen and women and corrupting them in the process. The muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) is one of Wisconsin's most important and unique trophies. Musky Shop the Worlds Largest Musky Shop. Obviously, the current Hayward “powers that be” still wish to promote these bogus record fish merely for the tourism draw they feel they still have. Tourism and business in general here was not flourishing, to say the least. “Home of World Record Muskies”! Lake Namakagon - The tenth largest natural lake in Wisconsin, Lake Namakagon features 90 miles of undeveloped shoreline, 3200 acres of water and depths reaching up to 51 feet, which creates a plentiful source of recreational fun. Spray had once again contacted the Pettit’s to get this 1940 fish, but the younger brother told us he wouldn’t have a thing to do with him since Spray had stiffed them the year previously. And its open mouth full of unsuspecting humans, on the short end of the food chain for a change. The Hall is the "keeper of the world record fish of North America," a task that had been neglected until the Hall's inception in the 1970s. Their reasoning claimed that, despite professional photogrammetry that is admissible in a court of law, one could not determine fish weight from a photograph, even though proven actual length was far short of claimed length. Pete Rich guide service is the top producer of trophy muskies on The Chippewa Flowage. He was able to obtain a large (but not nearly as large as claimed) musky from two local violators named Pettit, a couple of brothers that had a reputation for taking large muskies by any means, especially the older Pettit brother. HERE is Mike Persson’s letter and HERE is the table showing contributions since 1979. is Mike Persson’s letter and HERE is the table showing contributions since 1979. Emmet tells us that fishing to him "is more than just catching; it's the experience," and we figure that most of the anglers who come here share that sentiment. DNR crews routinely sample musky populations The musky. In one room, two hairy Bigfoot dummies are tagged "The Primitive Fisherman" and "The Primitive Fisherman's Son," which probably draws a big laugh from the fishing-friendly crowd. “What have you done lately” evidently isn’t in their vocabulary here and the local “powers that be” continue to falsely advertise these supposed records of the long, long-past, in an attempt to lure unsuspecting trophy musky anglers to the area. Back to 1949: Louie Spray evidently couldn’t stand the fact that Cal Johnson had claimed a bigger Hayward musky than he, so he sent a telegram to the Johnson celebration advising, “Don’t give the award (a new car) yet. 8747 West Country Road B Hayward, WI 54843. That's a matter of some controversy. Hayward had a large celebration attended by the governor and the annual Hayward Musky Festival was born and is still celebrated today…what a great and ongoing generator of tourism to the claimed “The Musky Capitol of the World”. We noticed a showcase of minnow buckets, an ice spearing exhibit, a tackle box panorama, and a memorial wall "In Memory of Those Gently at Rest in God's Landing Net." The Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame has over 3,000 entries in its world record book. Four Days in Hayward. Mission Accomplished!! Review My Product At any rate, my goal in writing this piece was to shed additional light on these phony Hayward record claims with new information fairly recently obtained, present my hypothesis’ as to why I believe these shenanigan’s happened in the first place and also as to why the current and past “powers that be” here continue to perpetuate these shameful musky lies. HAYWARD, WISCONSIN. An art teacher of mine was married there as a polka band played. Believe me, disputing his credibility has put me in the hot box from family and devotees. Bruce Shumway. Spray, after getting his fish, along with another friend, Alton Van Camp, loaded the fish with weights of various types from Van Camp’s garage (well documented by the Van Camp family much to the chagrin of Dettloff) to attain a record fish weight. YouTube Hundreds of people visited Spray’s Bar and made their guesses and likely spent a good deal of money buying drinks while there! Take MN-70 east into Wisconsin for about 80 miles total. Phone: (715) 462-3838 muskytale@centurylink.net The first claim for that year revolved around a much loved and highly respected outdoor writer for Sports Afield magazine, Cal Johnson. Big Musky Resort, 10211 Big Musky Road, Hayward, WI, 54843, United States 715-462-3782 bigmuskyhayward@gmail.com. But, I persist in a search for the truth regardless. Sennett Muskie Fishing Tackle offers some of the best baits for musky fishing the Chippewa Flowage and other Hayward Wisconsin area lakes. Local Business Home of the One Mile Smile. Spray, self-admittedly, had a long and colorful history of run-ins with the law, having been a poacher; boot legger; gambling house operator; pool hall operator as well as an operator of several houses of ill-repute, along with legitimate stints as a lumber jack, hunter and trapper. Emmet Brown, the executive director of the Hall of Fame, showed us the outboard motor room. Box 834 10629 N. Chippewa River Road Hayward, WI 54843. Musky Tale Resort offers lakeside cabins, a full liquor bar/lodge, and our year-round Chippewa Flowage motel.. Wifi in our Lodge. The world's largest fiberglass sculpture is also the world's largest fish -- a fearsome muskie -- and the centerpiece of the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. So, Spray had made his 1939 claim stick, what with the fairly lax criteria and scrutiny of record claims in those days of record keeping and no photo required. At least he claimed one at any rate. Not long after, in the March 1950 issue, Sports Afield magazine published a Cal Johnson authored article touting the great musky fishing in the Hayward, Wisconsin waters. 11251 Tiger Musky Road Couderay, WI 54828. This, despite the fact that they used the very same reason of questionable photograph of fish weight claim vs. length, for the “setting aside” of the Lawton world record. In front of the fiberglass bass (which is eating a fiberglass frog) is a plaque: "In Loving Memory of Marjorie Anne Pazik Herrewig 1948-1983: The smallmouth was her favorite fish." Drummond, WI 54832. During the course of our visit, Pettit said, ” Louie said he’d pay us for getting him a big one (muskie). Family, fishing and fun on Hayward, Wisconsin's Chippewa Flowage. For the rest of us, what will stand out in your memory is the big muskie. In this previously unpublished photo Johnson’s fish looks its actual size and nowhere near 5 feet long…Johnson’ was only 5 foot 7 inches tall! At least that is what it says on the water tower on the hill here. I say “likely” since that fish hasn’t undergone the professional scrutiny that the other claimed records from here have, but it is probably legitimate. In addition, it is easy to view the enhancement of all fins including the tail extension which added at least one and half-inches to the already lengthened body! This included lying to the Lawton family to obtain the Lawton files; positioning himself to be appointed Director, Sawyer County Historical Society, Historical Editor of Musky Hunter magazine and then to the Board of the NFWFHF, ultimately becoming Hall Board President. OFM Partners The scale and scope of the place has grown ever since. "This is definitely the largest collection of outboard motors available to public viewing. A stairway up the muskie's gullet leads to an observation platform in its toothy, open mouth. So now for the icing on the cake…King Louie’s 1949 world record claim has been so intensely defended by John Dettloff since 1992, that he went incredibility far overboard shaming himself, the Sawyer County Historical Society, Musky Hunter magazine, The National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame (NFWFHF-who ultimately upheld the Spray record, despite the vast amount of proof against it) and the town of Hayward, Wisconsin! Photogrammetric solution of Spray’s 1949 fresh fish (smaller outline) vs. theenhanced mount outline. Also, the mount has the total length and the size of all of the fins greatly enhanced as well (visible only when viewing the actual mount). RSS Feeds, ShortURL: ofmn.co From Minneapolis 155 Miles, 3 hours. Muskies Inc Hayward Chapter, Hayward, Wisconsin. For years it hung as a trophy in Louis Spray's bar, until both were destroyed in a fire. Being also a near life-long musky historian/compiler of facts, I continuously researched musky record catch information in a continued search for the truth. Musky Shop Catalyst Men's Performance Fleece Half-Zip Top Black-Red Feb 26th, 2014 by OutdoorsFIRST. Following is my belief of what likely took place in 1939: In 1939, the country was coming out of  the depression only to find itself facing the possibility of becoming embroiled in World War II. Thousands of the ‘big boys’ have earned Hayward its reputation as ‘Musky Capital of the world.” (Oops, Hayward had to give up that logo/claim after losing a court battle over it with Boulder Junction, Wisconsin some years later, resulting in the current logo/claim on the water tower). Start here.Use RoadsideAmerica.com's Attraction Maps to plan your next road trip. Its gaping, merciless eyes. Fax: 715-798-3455. Wow, what a place to fish for record muskies, huh? Here, too, is a memorial exhibit to Herman the Worm, a sickly Canadian night crawler that was nursed back to health by a freshwater fisherman and eventually made a guest appearance on The Tonight Show. much to offer visitors people can visit the brewery and the HUGE muskie.Hayward Wisconsin is a great place to be. The Pickled Pioneer, Menlo, Washington (Feb 22-28, 2021). It isn’t even close…!! © IGFA Cal Johnson’s muskie might never be bested. Turns out that the truth here was ugly! Copyright ©2020 OutdoorsFIRST Multispecies NetworkAll Rights Reserved. And of course he also claims it was caught near his Chippewa Flowage resort…. At any rate, when professional, scientific photogrammetry was performed on both the fresh fish photo’s and the mount, it proved that the Johnson fish was considerably short of the record claim for length, and the musky world began mourning, although many still wished to “believe” and local supporters and family screamed to the heavens. Emmet directed our attention to the 1909 Evinrude, which he said was the world's first production outboard motor. So over-zealous was Dettloff that he went to any lengths to remove the contender to Spray’s 1949 fish. First, let us set the stage as to the possible why’s of the making of these false claims in the first place: The first false world record claim originated from Louie Spray in 1939. Kahmann would later mount Cal Johnson’s supposed world record in 1949, but would then refuse to mount Spray’s 1949 fish, obviously having had enough of the shim shams by then. Oh what a tangled web Dettloff weaved back in the early 1990’s! It is also the centerpiece of the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, Hayward, Wisconsin. We had the homemade deluxe pIzza and the boneless zings for an app. For visitors, like me, to Hayward, WI, it’s an amazing conglomeration of concrete, steel, and fiberglass with a little–or a lot–of paint thrown in.. I’ll admit this giant fish also makes me wonder if a dinvw, 800px"> It is unclear why he ignored those two, maybe he thought them legit, and they may be, although they have not been subjected to professional, scientific photogrammetric scrutiny as have three of the four bogus Hayward record claims (there isn’t sufficient photographic evidence available of the fourth one to examine, but other evidence got the job done). tourist attractions and odd sights in Wisconsin. However, much to Spray’s chagrin, his record claim was bested twice before 1939 ended! A sad tale to be true and one that has forever muddied historical world record musky waters! Above is a silhouette comparison of the Johnson fish, exactly as composed and performed by John Dettloff on the Lawton record, but was totally ignored by the IGFA in their review of the WRMA Johnson Protest. OutdoorsFIRST is hosted by Outdoors Engine. If the “s” in muskies were to be painted over, that claim would be more inline with the truth, since only one musky ever caught in the Hayward area has a likely legitimate claim to having been a true World Record; a 51-pound specimen caught by F.J. Swint in 1916 from Chief Lake before it became a part of the Chippewa Flowage. When I learned of this, prior to his passing, I offered, thru the family friend, to pay Mr. Petit a significant sum of money if he would provide an affidavit to the fact that he and his brother provided the 1939 record fish to Spray. 724 likes. Yes, the mount may be near the claimed 5-feet, but the real fish wasn’t! 13055 Brady Road. Spray was an entrepreneur and successful business man and could usually figure out a way to make a buck. Bring your rain-wear, sunglasses, and camera. Its early survival is credited to the Jim Beam Company, whose ten-year program of collectible fish whiskey decanters netted the Hall of Fame a quarter-million dollars in licensing fees. Pettit also said that ”Louie was no better fisherman than the next guy”. Saved by Victoria Nowak. I’m sure this was a move that the IGFA now regrets after the WRMA Johnson Protest, due to the position it put them in having to defend a record that they never sanctioned in the first place! I believe it was due to Cal Johnson’s stellar reputation and life-long involvement with one of the country’s top three outdoor magazines (he wrote for Sports Afield magazine for 50 years or so) and the wish not to make waves, that was the primary reason that the IFGA chose to become hypocrites by upholding Johnson’s fish as their current all-tackle world record.