The Case Of The Muskie: A Fish Story

57 Years Ago, The Record Setting Muskie Was Caught…Or Was It?

(CBS) 
To rebut, the hall of fame contacted distinguished mathematicians like professor Doug Arnold of the University of Minnesota.

"This is a problem in projective geometry you really need more information that is sitting in this photo to tell me how long that fish is," Arnold said. "It depends on the placement of the fish and the placement of the camera. It's no longer than 63 inches they were claiming but it could be a lot shorter."

Then, another bombshell dropped: a hall of fame inductee and guide, Spence Petros, said that Chicago mafia capo Joey "the doves" Aiuppa told him on a fishing trip that he Caught spray's fish.

"He goes 'when I was a young man I liked to muskie fish around Hayward, Wisc. that was great you could bring them in and shoot them in those days," Petros said. "And he goes 'You know I caught the world record muskie?' and I was like you know half sarcastic like, 'You caught the world record muskie?' and he looked at me and said 'No, I caught it'"

The reason Aiuppa said he never came forward with his catch was because he was on the lam.

"I said 'Well what happened?' he goes 'I sold it to Louis Spray for $50,'" Petros said.

This fish tale is confirmed by Aiuppa's constant companion Jimmy Buonamo, also known as Pepsi or Jimmy Bananas.

"Yes, he caught that fish," Buonamo said. "And he wouldn't lie to anybody he caught the fish. That's one thing about him. He was true. He caught the fish."

Emmett Brown of the hall of fame says spray's world record stands, supported by notarized affidavits from the other two men in the boat with Spray, a man who measured it and a local postmaster who weighed it.

They've kind of voted to uphold this fish in the face of modern scientific research," Delaney said.