text: Louie Spray's Muskie Reinstated \n                     As World's Biggest\n\n                                    By John Dettloff\n\n      \n\nOn Aug. 6, 1992, Art Lawton's world record\nMuskie, originally thought to have been 69 pounds, 15 ounces and  64 1/2 inches long, was discovered to have been falsified (greatly  exaggerated in size) and was officially disqualified jointly by both  the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame and the IGFA.\n\nAs a consequence of that decision, Louie  Spray officially was reinstated as the  all-tackle world record holder of the Muskie with his 69-pound, 11-ounce  fish that he caught out of the Chippewa  Flowage in 1949.\n\nRecapping what let to this bombshell discovery: in August 1991, some very contradictory facts about the Lawton Muskie became known to me and, since so many anglers in the Muskie fishing community have always questioned the legitimacy of his fish, I began to deeply research the matter.   My goal was to neither prove or disprove  the Lawton Muskie, but to learn all of the facts about his fish with a commitment to the  ascertainment of the truth.\n\n       In summary, the Lawton fish was disqualified because it was discovered that  Art Lawton had submitted false evidence to Field O Stream (the  record-keeping body at the time) supporting his world record  Muskie. It was discovered that: the photo he submitted to Field &  Stream as being of his 69-pound, 15-ounce Muskie actually was the photo of a much smaller Muskie of 491/2 inches and 55 pounds and  that the weigh-in affidavit Lawton submitted was false evidence.   The principle weight witnessed had recanted his original story.\n\nAmong the preponderance of evidence discovered proving the fish  to have been falsified, the key piece of the whole affair rested upon  a newly discovered photo of the Lawton Muskie, showing the fish  hanging from a post, clearly showing the true size of the fish. The  photo shows the Muskie to be approximately a foot shorter than Art Lawton's own height -- and not a mere 31/2 inches shorter as claimed by Lawton, who was 68 "    tall.  Some individuals have made the petty, and unfounded accusations that the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame disqualified the Lawton Muskie in an effort to "bring the record back home to Wisconsin." But to anyone knowing the facts, this easily can be dispelled. The fact is, the decision to disqualify Lawton's fish was  not made by a handful of "Hayward people," but by a world board  of approximately 40 Advisory Governors made up of people from  all over the United States, Canada and even abroad. These people  voted overwhelmingly to disqualify the Lawton Muskie solely  because the facts indisputably prove the Lawton fish to have been  falsified.   So, history is once again back on its correct course and the mark to bet is set. It only takes time on the water and that one charmed cast to catapult you into the record books to attain that hallowed  title that Louis Spray now holds with the largest Muskie ever  caught in history - his 69-pound, 11-ounce catch from the Chippewa Flowage.\n\nThe Chippewa Flowage is the home of 17 current world  record fish, 24 of which are Muskies which include the current all-tackle world record Muskie.