This edition seems to center a lot on Detloffs attacks on Lawtons fish. One thing is for sure Lawton and his wife caught a lot really big Muskies. The stuff about the mobster catching Sprays fish is real interesting. Also the Malo fish brings another combatant to the table. I spent 3 days talking with Larry and he is of the opinion that The Obrien fish should be at the top because they did everything correctly. But he also does not write off the others as many of them could be true. He presents a lot of evidence and photos that are real cool to look at and read. I like Larrys approach,he seems to lean towards its true until you can prove its not true. Most of those old entries into the Field and stream contests are impossible to judge today. Larry told me its going to take a legit 70.5 pounder to be the world record and that fish will be under a microscope if its ever caught. I think like he does, If you disqualify Lawton then you have disqualify all the rest down to Obrien. With Gelb boating two fish over 50 pounds and one fish I know of here in Michigan over 50 that was released and Mille Lacs,Lac Suel I have to believe that Obriens fish can be beaten . The lore and history in this book is fantastic reading and I think Larry did a great job of presenting all of the pictures, letters and arguments. I am half way thru the first volume and I cant put the book down. One fact I got already was that it was Hartman not Lawton who admitted stuffing weight into his fish. Art and Ruth Lawton remind me of Michelle and I. They would fish from daylight to dark eating lunch and dinner on the boat. They went every weekend that they could get away. They claimed to average 35 Muskies per year which is not hard to swallow at all. They fished for near 30 years. The pictures of Percy Havers fish are to me the worst. They dont even look as big as Michelles 34 pounder. Of all the record fish I find those to be the hardest to believe. I can tell that Detloff and Ramsell do not agree on Sprays fish or Lawtons fish.

In short These old fish were caught and killed at a time when the possibility of 30 year old Muskies existed in hundreds of Lakes and rivers all over north America. So many were killed off. Now with so many being released and some genetic engineering done I feel we have recaptured the chance that another round of world record Muskies are just around the corner. I think today that the angler who kills the next world record will have his ducks in row and the contest will move on from these old records. Larry believes that a 70 pounder exists and will be caught in the next 10 years. I have to agree. I hope its caught on one of my lures ha ha ha ha ha [smilie=biggrin.gif] . Mike and Michelle