From the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame web site (
visit link) :
"A public service organization founded in 1960 and incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 1970 for the purpose of developing an attraction and a museum to collect, preserve and display the artifacts of the sport of fresh water angling.
To conduct a public service program for qualifying, compiling, publishing and updating record fresh water fish catches.
To perform a program of recognition of persons and organizations for outstanding achievement and accomplishment in the realm of fresh water fishing.
To library and disseminate information, and act as a clearing house for dated and contemporary facts concerning the fishing industry.
...
The Hall project reposes on six city-donated, beautifully landscaped acres of land strategically located adjacent to the City of Hayward in northwest Wisconsin in a high traveler traffic location and vacation destination region.
It attracts more than 100,000 visitors for a nominal gate fee, each museum season, from April 15th to November 1st; 80% of the gate is realized in June, July and August, 15% comes in May and September, 5% in April and October."
About the giant muskie and the rest of the grounds:
A gateway building, a walk-through fish (Muskie) structure, and a four-building connected complex make up about 25,000 square feet of floor space for museum visitor traffic and displays. The need for building expansion is perpetual.
The highlight of the museum complex is a landmark "Shrine to Anglers" which is a structure one-half city block long and four and one-half stories tall, of concrete, steel and fiberglass, hand-sculpted into the likeness of a leaping fish (Muskie). Its innards are a museum and its gaping open jaw accommodates about 20 persons or more as an observation platform. The landmark is surrounded by a quarter-acre nature pond.
The adjacent four-building museum complex houses fishing artifacts housing an inventory of over 5,000 dated lures, hundreds of antique rods, reels and angling accessories, over 300 antique rods, reels and angling accessories, over 300 antique and classic outboard motors, and more than 400 mounts of near 200 different species of fish.
The museum also houses a video theater, seating 35 people. The theater shows constant running, all-day movie shorts depicting the educational and instructional aspects of fishing and related subjects."