Advanced Review of Wayne Ruby's The Pflueger Heritage

I have always wondered why there has not been an introductory text on Pflueger. Well, I am happy to report that our long wait is over. Wayne Ruby, a retired aerospace engineer and NFLCC member, has written The Pflueger Heritage: Lures and Reels, 1881-1952 and I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy.



Collector Books has published a number of works on fishing tackle history ranging from outstanding to downright useless, and fortunately this book is well laid out, with adequate photography and is generally well-written.

A full-color 352 page hardcover book, The Pflueger Heritage is divided into seven main sections—history, wood lures, metal lures, other (glass, rubber, etc.) lures, E.A. Pflueger metal lures (but not E.A. Pflueger reels), Pflueger reels (including some 4 Brothers and Portage), and catalogs, and has five very detailed appendices that occupy approximately half the book. As the title notes, it covers lures and reels up to 1952, meaning that other Pflueger tackle items such as rods, fish hooks, etc. are not dealt with, nor is any new tackle in the post-1952 era, roughly equating with the spinfishing revolution. It will be of particular interest to Pflueger reel and metal lure collectors.

Based on the research of a number of Pflueger scholars as well as the author's significant original catalog research, each item covered has color photo(s) and sometimes advertising and catalog cuts as a supplement. The author notes that the book is not exhaustive and that some reels and lures are not covered, although many items not pictured can be found in the appendices.

Anyone with even a passing interest in Pflueger reels and lures will want a copy for their library. Ruby should be commended for his years of research and dedication to seeing this project through to the end. As the author of my own little book on Pflueger, I can say first-hand that writing Pflueger history is a daunting task. I can appreciate what Ruby accomplished more than most. This will serve as the major introductory work on Pflueger history for years to come.

The book will ship at the end of August and is available from a number of sites including Amazon and Collector Books.

-- Dr. Todd

PS For those interested, I wrote a more exhaustive review of Ruby's book for the current issue of the journal Classic Angling.