The Most Witnessed Muskie in History continued
Before Louie Spray had his muskie officially weighed, he recognized an excellent opportunity to capitalize on his good fortune and use the situation to draw some attention to the community (and his tavern). The first place that Louie headed to show off his catch was to his bar and the adjoining cafe (Watrud's Grill). Louie also hauled the muskie into Rice Lake to show it off that afternoon, turning up at a local radio station with it-where he attracted an immediate crowd of awestruck onlookers-and going on the air and telling how he had battled the muskie.
While keeping the approximate size of his muskie under wraps, after he had finished showing off his big muskie, Louie brought the fish back to town to display in his bar. In an effort to capitalize on his good fortune, Spray then put the muskie into a large trough and packed it with ice, holding a contest to guess the size of his huge catch.
Offering a $5 cash award to anyone guessing the closest to his muskie's weight, length, and girth, Spray had his patrons register their guesses in a black book, a ledger. For a period of three days, locals and tourists alike streamed into Spray's Bar to catch a glimpse of his magnificent catch. 514 people came in to see Louie's fish and documented their guesses into the book. This book, currently preserved in the archives of the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame, stands as the longest known list of witnesses ever serving to document the existence of a muskie.
Following the close of the contest, Louie turned his muskie over to a committee of three of Hayward's more upstanding citizens, to weigh and measure it. Consisting of John O. Moreland, a member of the Governor's Board of Directors of the Wisconsin Conservation Department; Herbert Simonson, the Hayward City Clerk; and Karl Kahmann, the renown taxidermist who had done work for a number of Chicago's leading museums; the committee took the muskie to Pufahl's Hardware Store in Hayward and, assisted by store employee Ray Ingersoll, weighed and measured the fish on an inspected scale, in the presence of Louie Spray.
The above mentioned committee who weighed and measured Spray's muskie, all swore under oath, on notarized affidavits, that they had personally weighed the fish at 61 pounds 13 ounces and measured it to be 59 1/4 inches long and have a 32 1/2 inch girth.
Immediately following the much awaited weigh-in of Louie's fish, the entire town of Hayward-unaware that a larger muskie had been supposedly caught-proudly proclaimed to the world that they had just recaptured the world record muskie title. This was Hayward's muskie, it seemed, just as much as it was Louie's.
As well documented as his record catches were, there still was some sentiment of disbelief regarding these fish. Perhaps it was based on simple jealousy, perhaps it was that his catches were too fantastic to believe, or perhaps it was the result of Louie's wild past coming back to haunt him. Whatever the reason, it should be noted that this world record muskie in particular actually stands as one of the best documented and verified of any of the record muskies ever caught.
Unfortunately for Spray, the catching of his 61 pounder had been a bittersweet event. For he was robbed of his rightful glory and never did live to see it officially awarded the world record muskie title. It wasn't until fifty-five years after the fact, that this angling injustice was finally rectified. But somehow Spray had known that all along... that he really did catch three record muskies in his day.
To purchase an autographed copy of John Dettloff's book, Three Record Muskies in His Day: The Life & Times of Louie Spray, send a check or money orderfor $19.95 plus $3 shipping (Wisconsin residents add 5.5 percent sales tax) to: Trails' End Publishing, Dept. V., 7431 N. Chippewa Flowage Rd., Couderay, Wi. 54828-9726.
