Harper Walleye has been Reinstated as the World Record. That just tells me the guys at the IGFA smoke a lot of crack.
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 does a comprehensive study of the fish before it's entered into the record books.
Through photo analysis and witnesses coming forward after many years, many old records have been disqualified. 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, was listed as the official World Record Walleye.
Flip Flop: They have changed it again and have reinstated Mabry Harper's Walleye as the World Record Walleye. It's my opinion that the people at the IGFA and the Fishing Hall of Fame, which have their own standards and own records to serve their own needs, smoke a lot of crack because I have to change my web site every two years because they keep changing their minds on what old record is true and what is not. I have guided for northern Ontario lodges for many years and have seen tons of trophy Walleyes and it's my opinion that the Harper Walleye is 12 pounds at the very most. It's more like 9 pounds.
I think the Harper Record Walleye (above) is total bullshit !!!!! Look below.
I increased the size of the picture below to increase length by 20% and girth by 20% to make up an overall weight difference of 40%, which is what the harper fish claims.
Below is Al Nelsons' Walleye (I think is the real World Record)