I guess it wasn't a farce after all.
 
Took me a while to dig this up and here's what I found.
 
http://news.google.com/ne...BAJ&pg=3396,418336

SaltWaterRocks, the guy who told me the story worked at a carnival that was taken place in Monongahela at the time. 

I'm not buying it ! There are already discrepancies in this story. Salt says the fish was not in too bad of shape and the article says the fish was already too beat up and not much left because animals got to it !  This is 1986 and I know digital cameras are not around yet but those cheap 110 cameras were every where! I can't believe someone would not attempt to run down to the grocery store and grab a camera off the shelf for such a rare, rare find. They are even at a sporting goods store and no one is even thinking about a photo for backup ! This had to be the fishing story of the year in that area! Someone would of had too say go get a camera because nobody will believe the size of this monster ! 35mm cameras were also fairly common I know because I lugged one around for years. 67 inches is just to hard for me to fathom without some kind of verification. I'm not calling someone a liar but I think there is cause for serious doubt......that's just my opinion. 
Rich, we usually wait till the season reopens in May.

in 1980-81 I caught a musky that hung over my tail gate 4 inches on each side...that was on a 78 Ford 48" gate. Caught in spring using chubs for walleye on 6lb. test. Guessed weight was 33lb. It was 1 o clock in morning ...put on stringer for a minute then decided to let go. She was loaded with eggs and I sure couldn,t afford to mount it. Had a guy that I worked with with me,Gary Jones, who played in a group called the Bar Flies. Biggest fish I ever caught.

Fellas, I know fish gain size with speculations. My son and I were ice fishing P.I. quite a few winters ago(7-8) and we started to hear rumors from other fishermen of a 17" perch. I'm game I have heard of such creatures and had to see it. Well as we were going back to the #3 parking area and loading up the gear to move to Misery a fella we talked to finally was a first person observer of said beheamouth. He points to a shanty that looked 1/2 mile out. I looked at my son and he said lets go. So we walked with tape measure all the way out. I didn't need the tape, it was a nice 14" jumbo. And I did tape it at 14", which is a true jumbo. That illusive 17" perch must be out there because I have heard of so many of them. I sure haven't seen one. There is still probably a bunch of anglers talking about the 17" perch someone caught that day.
I saw a carp swim by me once, that I still hesitate to tell others how big it was. Knowone would beleave me! 

http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/field-notes/2013/07/wisconsin-angler-releases-possible-world-record-muskie
 
.....not saying this is for sure a 64" musky but it looks believable.

As far I know though, a 59" musky is the longest that has been officially recorded. 

I'm ready for spring so I can drift in front of the beach and crush fish. There I said it

I guess I've always been a doubter on certain unbelievable things all my life. Especially outdoor events that involve hunting and fishing. Lets say I'm cautious,  I don't doubt that there is some truth to those stories but I'm more inclined to believe if it sounds too good or extreme it's usually false. To me when one has a photograph it's about 99% believable not 100% because photos can also be distorted some what. I always say show me several photos of that object and then I'm usually sold. I'm talking "extreme stories" not your average. I don't need to see several photos of a normal size fish or deer I don't doubt those .Too many times there are false photos posted on the internet and phones of false trophy fish or game animals. They usually post only "one photo" and usually there are no people recognizable in that photo. They will say this enormous deer (photo) was killed locally and my buddy's friend seen it and sent me the photo. All you see in the photo is a dead trophy deer with hunters boots standing next to it. Not 3 or 4 photos just one !! When you backtrack to find out who really seen it, it leads to nowhere ! In this digital camera age why would anybody only take one photo of a lifetime trophy or something truly rare ? Dead batteries can happen ( I know ) but if that animal or fish is being kept that excuse won't fly. Once again I'm talking the rare, extreme, almost totally unbelievable tales !

just a side note, but i knew an old timer who fished the lake daily in the spring and early summer and hated muskies to no end.  i heard if he caught one while wading, into the undergrowth it went.  heading out one evening many years ago, i saw a young guy with a 'ski on a stringer.  a fish well over forty inches.  i asked him where he caught it.  he said he didn't.  he said he saw on old guy catch it and after landing it, he threw into the bushes, from where he fetched it.  makes one wonder, eh?