In 1960, Mabry Harper claimed to have caught a 25-pound Walleye in Old Hickory Lake, Tennessee. Like most old records, all he needed was a fishing buddy to confirm the record and it went into the books. In modern times, catching a world record fish can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars in product endorsements, magazine publication royalties and even invitations to sport shows to show off the fish and tell your story. As a result, the IGFA, which it the true keeper of official fishing records, does a comprehensive study off the fish before it's entered into the record books.

Below is Mabry Harper disqualified World Record Walleye

Through photo analysis and witnesses coming forward after many years, many old records have been disqualified. For example, Art Lawton's Muskie was disqualified in 1992 and the present world record Muskie caught by Louie Spray is soon to be disqualified and the Ken O'Brien Muskie will be instated as the World Record. The reason is photo analysis shows Louis Spray's Muskie could not be more than 53 pounds, which is a big difference with the claimed weight of 69-pounds 11-ounces. Mabry Harper's fish was disqualified in the mid-90s because photo analysis showed the fish could not weigh more than 18 pounds. As a result, Al Nelson's 22-pound 11-ounce Walleye, which was caught in Fairfield Bay on Greer's Ferry Lake, Arkansas in 1982, is now the official World Record Walleye.

In 1987 a salmon fisherman accidentally snagged a 25-pound 3-ounce Walleye in the Niagara River. It had to be let go and cannot qualify as a World Record as it was caught illegally. Over the years I have guided for many lodges and now I manage the web sites for almost 200 lodges. I predict the next world record will be caught in Algonquin Park in the lower Petawawa River or on Lady Evelyn Lake in Northern Ontario. Ice Fishing World Record Walleye