Your Inspirational Poster of the Week

Friday Funhouse

The Friday Funhouse
The Wobbler as art?



Things I Would Buy If Only I Could Afford Them
This Frenchy LaMay musky lure catches both big musky and collectors alike.


Your weekly Haiku:

Heddon Musky lure
Sending out an S.O.S.
Right straight to my heart


Holy rare Penn Model F, Batman!


This Henshall Van Antwerp Black Bass reel is a real humdinger.


A Heddon Baby Lucky 13 advertising model is a nifty piece, and bigger than a cat.


This Chippindale tournament casting reel makes me want to dance naked, almost.


An Evans Eagle Claw is always a great find.


This Heddon 740 Punkinseed in white shore minnow is an awesome piece, especially in the (incorrect) box.


I talked about this lure on the radio with Don Kirk and Brock Ray; sometimes the right color is all the difference, as in this Yellow Shore Minnow (so common in other models) is rare in the Lucky 13.


A Leonard Bi-Metal is a terrific example of a classic reel.


This is a nifty later model Shakespeare Revolution.


A Doug English Bingo Floater in Frog has some Texans going to the mat.


This South Bend Plug Oreno in the box is an awesome combo.


Yeah, this CCBC Pikie in Red/Orange Black Spot is as rare as you think it is.


This H.L. Leonard tournament casting fly rod would be a dream to cast.


A Heddon Tadpolly in the intro box is one of my favorite early 20th century lures.


This is a nifty Chapman bass bait.


Someone want to tell me what this is??? UPDATE: Jason Holiday writes: "Your unknown bait on your things I wish I could have blog spot is a Flashtail from Northern Tackle (Canada)."


The Scooterpooper is a great Carolina lure.



If this isn't one of the neatest Paw Paw Great Injured Minnows I don't know what is.


This CCBC White Scale Dingbat is a fine find.


These three bobbersare beautiful.


That's all for this week! Check back over the weekend for more fun and be good to each other and yourself.

-- Dr. Todd

Thursday Review: Eddies Magazine

The great magazine Eddies: Reflections on Fisheries Conservation just celebrated its first anniversary, and I wanted to both congratulate this fine journal as well as encourage others to subscribe to it. The magazine is a publication of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife's Fisheries Department, and is intended to publicize the news of the fish culture and conservation, but also has a lot of great stories (from outstanding writers) about fishing in general.


Eddites is capably edited by the noted outdoor writer Craig Springer, and we wish them the best on the occasion of their first anniversary and wish them many happy returns.

You can subscribe (and check out the inaugural issue for free as a downloadable .PDF file) by Clicking Here.

-- Dr. Todd

Mr. & Mrs. Wickham Go Fishing ca. 1908

Mr. & Mrs. Wickham Go Fishing ca. 1908

Doug Jobe sent me this fabulous photograph which has a great story behind it (literally). I'll let Doug describe it, and then you can read the information for yourself:

I've been collecting tackle for about 20 years but in the past 8 or so i started leaning more and more to the photographic history. I've recently moved and with each day I uncover another piece that has been stashed away. I have been trying to research this particular piece recently. Googling it hasnt revealed anything yet. I hope you dont mind but i am going to send 3 seperate scans. The first is the actual picture which is a cabinet card approx 12 X 9 3/4 inches. The second will be an article that is glued to the back and the 3rd is the upper back writing and signature of the mentioned couple in the photo.




Truly an awesome piece, with the additional information which makes it a great slice of fishing history. What a neat piece. Thanks to Doug for sharing this with us! He has a tremendous collection of fishing photography, and has graciously allowed us to see some of it today (and in future posts). Thanks Doug!

-- Dr. Todd

Voices from the Past: South Bend at the Start of the Great Depression (Dec. 1930)

South Bend at the Start of the Great Depression (Dec. 1930)

My friend Jim Garrett sent me this article detailing South Bend Bait Company's fortunes at the start of the Great Depression. It comes from The Sporting Goods Illustrated for December 1930, which should not be mistaken for The Sporting Goods Journal, a completely separate entity. While it may seem counterintuitive, some firms did astoundingly well during this dire economic era, and South Bend was one of them. A great article and I thank Jim for sending it our way.


--Dr. Todd

News of the Week: 23 February 2009

A Laker dance girl is a fishin' gal...the boat that served as the basis for Quint's in the movieJaws is auctioned...saltwater kayak fishing...revolting against the lead ban...a mythical Grouper named Phar Lap...a new play centers on fishing fishing companions...one man thinks Sage sold its soul (and its dealers)...nothing says love like a big Flathead...Orvis is into statistics...talk show host Jimmy Kimmel would rather be fly fishing...it must be the NEWS OF THE WEEK!

The Big Lead: Stefanie, the Los Angeles Laker girl, is just a fishin' gal at heart.


The Cricket II, the most famous shark fishing vessel ever, goes on the auction block.

Two men with shark on the brain would have made Frank Mundus proud.


A Kiwi Saltwater Kayak angler gets profiled.


The lone female in the Bassmaster Classic field is facing some opposition for getting into the field via a joker clause.


Even in tough economic times, Northland Fishing Tackle renews its sponsorship of the National Professional Angler's Association.

Illinois anglers are up in arms over the proposed move away from lead fishing tackle.

Ice fishing on Green Bay is a ton of fun.


This angler prefers fishing the old school way.


New fishing lures are making a big splash at the BASSMaster Classic.

A review of the new play "The Fly Fisher's Companion."


If you're fishing near Pasco, try the power plant canal.

A moment with Michael Clark, taxidermist.

New Zealanders are arming themselves to catch Phar Lap, the near-mythical Grouper that trolls the waters off the Clarence River.


One pro angler muses on the joys and frustrations of professional fishing.


A Kiwi anglers gets his jollies wrestling big fish.


Even MSNBC is carrying the story of the North Carolina record gar.


Your South African fishing report: more Geelbek are plentiful, but Kob and Leerfish are scarce.

Potential world record Tiger Musky is caught through the ice.


Yet another fishing columnist weighs in against Dick Cheney as the guest speaker at the AMFF.

Did Sage rods sell their souls (and their dealers) by striking a deal with Cabelas?

Canada's The Pincher Creek Echo reports that bamboo rods of Arne Andreason are a real catch.

This grandmother has a whale of a fishing tale.

Ahh, nothing says amore like a big Flathead.


How Orvis uses cross-channel data to boost sales. And you thought 21st century tackle companies were soulless automatons?

Finishing with a Flourish: ABC talk show host Jimmy Kimmel dreams of the day he can head for the hills and disappear with a fly rod.

-- Dr. Todd

Poll Results

Poll Results

Almost 2/3 of those who answered the poll did not feel Dick Cheney was an appropriate figure to have been invited to speak at the AMFF. If there is a more polarizing figure in American politics I cannot think of one.


There's a new poll up about the use of hook tubing--do you use it? Some people love it and others think is potentially hurts lures.

-- Dr. Todd

Streater's Thought of the Week

Every weekend Dick Streater gives us his thought of the week, culled from his voluminous files on fishing and tackle history.

Streater's Thought of the Week: As the quality and function of rods and reels improved, the size and weight of the standard casting lure decreased. A good example of this is the Heddon Expert #200 which decreased in size to the #210.

-- Dr. Todd

A Thousand Words

A Thousand Words

A new feature on the blog will feature fishing photograph--vintage and contemporary. This week we are fortunate to have a composition from the immensely talented Peter Nilsen. His compositions are absolutely lovely, and this one is no exception.


Thanks, Peter, for sharing that with you. The theme is excellent and the lighting and composition are outstanding too. Very evocative!

Do you have a favorite photograph, vintage or contemporary, you'd like to share?

-- Dr. Todd

Friday Funhouse

The Friday Funhouse
Minnesota's artistic Ice Shanty Project; for the ice angler with an ascetic bent.



Things I Would Buy If Only I Could Afford Them
Just what your Meek needs: A #2 Free Spool box.


A pair of oddball Han-Sel Wind Up Plugs in original packaging has the novelty collectors all worked up.


Here's a pretty Kent Frog.


This Robert D. Taylor bamboo fly rod is a really cool casting stick.


The Red & White Heddon Luny Frog doesn't come up for sale very often at all.


I'm not familiar with Jesse Ramey but he could sure carve a decoy.


The classic Arbogast Walleye. Truly a beautiful lure.


The Pflueger Atlapac was one of their best saltwater reels and surprisingly difficult to find.


Blanchard & White salmon plugs are extremely rare, and quite attractive.


An Expert oval Minnow Bucket would look great in your den.


Someone found themselves a Keeling Expert box in great condition.


A 1924 Pflueger Catalog is a picture of beauty.


A Heddon Basser in the box in Gold Scale? Yes, please.


This is a really beautiful Abbey & Imbrie round split shot tin.



That's all folks. As always, have a safe and happy weekend, and be good to each other--and yourself.

-- Dr. Todd