Hey Mo! Have you seen this?

[Scott McKee]

Modern Day Muskellunge World Record Established

• This modern day record program was formed in 2006 by a committee consisting of some of the worlds top muskellunge scientists, muskie industry leaders, muskie anglers and outdoor media personalities (www.modernmuskierecords.org).

• The committee decided at that time to set a qualifying standard for muskellunge application at 60-pounds, rather than leave it "open" to minimize entries merely to establish a new modern record, important in these days of catch and release.

• After seven years with no entries, several of our committee members got together and recommended that we consider the Seeberger fish, after the fact. The length of time that had passed with no fish entered in our program, indicated the real rarity of the species attaining such size. Our committee voted unanimously to slightly reduce the minimum weight requirement and begin the authentication process of the 58-pound Seeberger muskie. After a thorough three-month review to assure it met the stringent MDMWRP rules requirements for record, our esteemed committee members voted unanimously to accept this fish as the Modern Day Muskellunge World Record.

• It is now the highly coveted MDMWRP world record champion as well!

Let me get this straight, in 2006 a 60-pound limit was, "important in these days of catch and release", but after seven years with no entries, 58-pounds was big enough to lower your requirement to generate publicity for yourself, or were the members just bored?  Why make this move now?  Smells like money.  I wonder if little musky anglers these days dream of attaining the "highly coveted" MDMWRP world record?  This BIG musky angler didn't even know the WKRP, err I mean MDMWRP existed.  Call me old-fashioned, but I like the old records that are so incredibly phony they will most likely never be broken.  New York State considered removing Art Lawton's admittedly false 69 pounds, 15 ounce, 64.5-inch fish a few years back and I for one am glad they didn't.  I couldn't care less about Lawton, or records.  I care about muskies and a "whopper" like Art's won't be caught anytime soon in NYS, which might keep a few more fish swimming and not hanging. I mentioned I am not concerned about records, but I am proud to announce the formation of the Inter Galactic Before Recorded History and Extending to the End of the Universe Muskellunge Record To Show That Guy in Wisconsin I'm Boss Organization.  The IGBRHAETTEOTUMRTSTGIWIBO current record musky is 4,643 pounds.  It measured 18-inches in length and had a tremendous 2001-inch girth. It was caught on the distant moon LV-223 of the planet Calpamos in the year 2093 by a Weyland Corporation robot named David.  The fish fell to a ROB Light Sabre Tube rigged with a plasma cannon in the 50-watt range. The fish had several alien fetuses in its stomach, as well as a few suckers, bullhead and a Louisiana State license plate numbered 007-981.  So I wouldn't even consider keeping a musky unless you think it might eclipse the 4,643 pound mark.

[Tony Scime]

What kind of sauce do you put on your wings?

I have no problem with anglers who don't think size matters in musky fishing. Small, Medium and large are fine with me. I respect that.

I have little respect with anglers who say a fish is 40, 50, or 60 pounds, or world record size, when it isn't. They're just guessing without a sound basis for their guesses.

I also have no problem with anglers who would like to see more honesty and integrity in the sport.

[Scott McKee]

I'm all for honesty and integrity.  Is dropping your self-imposed limit of 60-pounds to 58-pounds integrity?  Is a press release that refers to the "highly coveted" record of an obscure organization honest?  When was the dawn of "modern day" musky fishing by the way?  What significant invention or event spurred this?  Was there a press release for that too?  Was Man incapable of measuring and weighing objects before the Internet?  Let me get my tongue out of my cheek...

On to your question: For traditional Buffalo wings, Frank's RedHot Sauce and liquified butter.  There is no substitute.  Restaurants around the country serving Buffalo wings always want to jazz up their wings, adding a pinch of this and a squirt of that to their dish.  Frank's RedHot Sauce and butter and that's it, is the Buffalo wing.  If you are interested in trying a slight modification, next time you order wings from your favorite establishment, ask them to bake the wings in the oven for a few minutes after they're shaken hot.  The baking process crisps the exterior and removes a significant amount of fat as well.  The baking also diminishes some of the heat from the Frank's and makes them less sloppy to eat.  If BBQ wings are your thing, I suggest Ken's Cannonball Sauce.  Regardless of the BBQ sauce used, I highly suggest placing BBQ wings on a char grill before serving.  Two other nice alternatives are Italian dressing, garlic, black pepper, basil, oregano, and Parmesan cheese, or Obrycki’s Seafood Seasoning and butter.  Both of these variations respond well to post-shaking baking (sounds like an alcoholic smoking a little pot after the day's first few drinks) as well.

By-the-way, I'll purchase $5 in raffle tickets at the February Meeting to whomever correctly identifies each movie reference made in the IGBRHAETTEOTUMRTSTGIWIBO announcement in my original post.

[Capt. Larry D. Jones]

Gee I wonder if setting the bar at 58 lbs now opens the door for a select group of St. Larry fishermen to beat it by ounces? Hopefully the most recent practice of releasing St. Larry Giants will continue!

[Scott McKee]

You're right on target here Larry.  Will the record bounce back and forth between the mid-west and St Larry's, where most of the MDMWRP committee is located?  New records equals more dead fish.  Release them all.

[Scott McKee]

Like I said in my original post: Smells like money.

[Capt. Larry D. Jones]

Scott,Your right,some on the committee have caught muskies close to 60 lbs in the past and even recently.I hope this doesn't start a killing spree of every fish 56" and up on the Larry!

[Tony Scime]

I have a great deal of respect for Larry Ramsell and all the research, writing, and education he has dedicated on behalf of the sport of Musky fishing. His Compendiums are the greatest muskie books ever written, in my opinion. I'm not going to critisize him for trying to establish an acceptable vehicle for proper world record verification. All too often, too many so called "possible" world records are being reported (it seems like a couple a year). It's a joke and a disservice to the sport that we're afraid to question these reports because it might not favor the release of large muskellunge. 

And I have no problem with anyone keeping a legitimate 60 pounder. How many have really been caught in the history of the sport? Less than a dozen, I'd bet. Maybe less than 5. Do we really know how large a musky can get? Are any of the old records legit? Maybe O'Brien's Moon River fish.

I thought that one of the hopes of catch and release was to give the fish a chance to grow to world record size. Unfortunately, we really don't know what that size really is.

Cheers to the efforts of Larry Ramsell and his organization.

Tony  

[Tony Scime]

I would also note that many of the committee members have been involved in muskellunge research and strong proponents of catch and release for many decades. I really don't believe that monetary benefit is their motivation.

[Scott McKee]

I agree with you about the Compendium, but why change your minimum now?  The Spray fish is a joke, a photo analysis company pegged the fish at 53.5".  The Cal Johnson fish?  Same thing.  Hartman admitted to fudging his fish on his (or very near) his deathbed.  The O'Brien fish has come under scrutiny recently.  Who's next?  And why now?  Does Larry have a new book releasing soon  Does Lazerus want Barbossa's fish to be recognized next?

[Capt. Larry D. Jones]

I agree with Tony,I don't think we have to worry about guy's like Mike Lazerus,Marc Thorpe and others.It is the other group of guys that camp on the 40 Acre Shoals that so far have Released every Big Girl's the last couple of years.But they would have been jumped on hard for keeping any fish under 60 lbs before,has that bar been lowered now to allow 55 lbers as being 2nd,3rd or 4th Biggest of Modern Records? How many will be killed to find out afterward they were 5 or more pounds under 58 lbs.I might be wrong,but the door may have opened for some to Bonked!

[Stephen Glassic]

I don't see why they couldn't come up with a way to verify the weight and still release the fish.  They could require maybe two witnesses and a continuous, unedited video showing the fish being weighed in the net with identification on the scale being used.  In the video, the net would then have to be weighed on the same scale to subtract the difference, once the fish is released.  The scale would then have to go through a verification process to be checked at the same weight against a certified scale  and then adjust the official weight to reflect the results of the scale verification.  If they are concerned about the repeatable results of the scale, the rules could state a list of acceptable scales and also require the scale be tested for consistency.